NBA Rumors: 2021 season could include only 50 games
As we inch towards the 2020 NBA Draft, which is slated for November 18, there are still plenty of unknowns about what the rest of the offseason will look like and when the 2021 season will look like for the NBA and its players.
While it was reported a few days ago that the league was pushing for a December start to the season and a 72-game slate, there has been some pushback on it from the players’ side, suggesting that they’d much rather prefer a January start to the season.
The only problem with that is the fact that it would be difficult to fit a full 70-80-game slate into four months. The NBA has made it clear that it wants to conclude the 2021 season before the 2020 Olympics.
That means that should the 2021 season start in January, as many of the players want it to, that could leave the league making a big decision of potentially cutting the regular season down so roughly 50, or so, games.
NBA players may only be offered a 50-game season, I'm told, if the union insists on a mid-January start rather than the Dec. 22 proposal, because the league's television partners do not want the 2020-21 season to stray past mid-July ... or clash with the Tokyo Olympics
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) October 30, 2020
That would bring a huge hit to its financial projections and could throw a huge wrench on the salary cap heading into the huge offseason of 2021. In short, it could create huge problems for both the players and owners.
The NBA and NBAPA will need to agree on the 2021 season sooner rather than later and they are now targeting a conclusion (or agreement) by November 6, just a mere 12 days before the official start of the NBA Draft.
An agreement would also solidify other huge dates, including potentially opening the transaction window for the NBA sooner rather than later.
Should the NBA begin in December, as many of the owners want, that would mean the free agency period would have to begin days after the draft. And decisions would have to come fast, considering that you’d expect training camps to open at some point at the beginning of December.
Hopefully, both the players and owners (and the fans) get some clarity on the 2021 season sooner rather than later.