The NBA appears to be inching closer and closer to a return. The league has been on an extended hiatus ever since Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 on March 11, and apparently, those who take the floor on a nightly basis are itching to play basketball again in the not-too-distant future.
Reports from over the last day indicated that some of the league’s most prominent players are coming together to try and figure out a plan with the league, with a collection of superstars in agreement on a “united front” that supports returning to play. But that sense isn’t just shared by the those at the very top, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
In an appearance on Get Up, Wojnarowski explained that players, “for the most part,” want to get back onto the floor. As he explained to Mike Greenberg, there are some who are hesitant to play, but the majority of players want game to tip off again soon. And interestingly enough, this sentiment applies to more than just players on squads that have aspirations of winning a ring.
“And I have found, in my conversations with all those constituencies, that has transferred, not just among the playoff teams and the teams who’d like to come back and think they’re competing for a championship or to advance deep in the playoffs, but even among the lottery teams who don’t have a lot to play for,” Wojnarowski said. “Remember, Greeny, there are a lot of economic issues at play here, and players stand to lose money in the short-term and long-term by not playing, and that has been an increasingly motivating factor in all of this, too.”
It is an interesting nugget, because one of the presumed ways that the league could restart its campaign while further reducing risk is to simply jump right into the playoffs, as that would be 14 teams worth of players, coaches, and assorted staffers would not be in whatever sort of environment the NBA would attempt to put together. With the league working to figure out a plan in the next 2-4 weeks, this will certainly be something to monitor as conversations begin to play out.