Would replacement players dampen the NBA’s plan to return to action?
As it currently stands, after a reported adjustment, the NBA has a plan to officially restart the 2019-20 season July 30. The league’s return to action includes an eight-game playoff seeding schedule, a possible play-in tournament for the eighth seed in both conferences, and then traditional seven-game series for the playoffs.
Despite the optimism towards restarting the season, not all the players are on board with the idea.
The NBA and NBPA are expected to agree on a provision that wouldn't require players to restart the season, nor subject them to discipline for staying home, sources tell ESPN. The players would lose a portion of salary for those games missed. https://t.co/WkV5qqEmE5
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 10, 2020
With the NBA not requiring players to play when the season resumes, it opens the door for “replacement” players. Believe me, I’m not entirely on board with such an idea either. Though, it’s probably necessary if the NBA wants to restart – and conclude – the 2019-20 season.
The league is doing the right thing with not requiring players to return to action, especially those that have concerns regarding their or their loved one’s health. The idea of replacement players could get a bit polarizing, however.
Sources: Players deciding against participating in Orlando could be replaced by a substitution player. NBA plans to allow replacements for players who test positive for COVID-19 or suffer injuries. Replaced players become ineligible for the rest of 2019-2020 season. https://t.co/6J62J0k8Nv
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 11, 2020
What will replacement players look like in the NBA?
One of the first things that we have to do is define what exactly these “replacement” players would look like. These aren’t going to be players that are signed off the street. I think the term “replacement” sometimes has that connotation in sports.
For instance, per ESPN, in order for one to be considered eligible to be signed as a “replacement” player:
"Eligible replacement players will likely have had to be signed in the NBA or G League or be on training camp contracts this season, sources said. Under these restrictions, for example, no team could sign veteran Jamal Crawford — who went unsigned all season — or an international player.The league office has discussed the possibility with its teams that there could be a requirement that those players replaced for COVID-19 or injury would become ineligible to return for the balance of this season, sources said."
Clearly, there are still logistics that need to be sorted out between now and the resumption of the season. Nevertheless, as the restart inches closer and closer there are some big questions. One of the biggest being, will the possibility of “replacement” players cheapen the idea to restart the season in a bubble?
It depends on a lot of things. One of the biggest, though, revolves around how many replacement players there will need to be. Right now, that’s impossible to answer. We don’t know how many players that won’t be comfortable with playing next month. After that, how many of those are “big names” and”important” pieces to their respective teams?
It’s one thing if it’s a few end-of-the-bench players here and there. Not to say that those players aren’t important, just that their impact likely won’t change the outcome of the 2019-20 season all that greatly. However, if a few star players elect to sit out then it really could impact how the playoff bubble idea will be looked back upon.
Despite the growing concerns amongst some players about the resumption of the 2019-20 season, the NBA appears to be moving forward with the idea. Whether that’s smart or the best course of action remains to be seen.
One thing’s clear, though, we’ll begin to answer some of these questions sooner rather than later. Hopefully, the NBA is not making any rash decisions.