The NBA calendar for the 2020-21 season (or, potentially, just the 2021 season) is very much up in the air right now. After pretty much resigning themselves to a January or even later start date, there is a sudden push from the Board of Governors to get the season underway on December 22 to get their traditional Christmas Day window.
The big hurdle is getting the NBPA on board, but with reports indicating many players don’t want a permanent schedule change that would take away their summers off, there might be ample support for the swift return to play. Danny Green of the Lakers noted the issues with the quick turnaround for the champs and other teams that made deep postseason runs, pointing out that vets on those teams, including the likes of LeBron James, might just not play the first month or so as they seek longer recovery this offseason and would then be getting ready to play while the season begins.
In any case, the push for a December start seems to be gaining steam and we got some more details on what the calendar for such a season start may look like from Marc Stein of the New York Times on Tuesday. Per Stein, should they go with the December start, teams are preparing for free agency to begin as soon as November 20, two days after the NBA Draft on the 18th.
Some teams, I’m told, are preparing for NBA free agency to begin as early as Nov. 20 or Nov. 21 — 48 to 72 hours after the Nov. 18 NBA Draft — if the plan to start the 2020-21 season Dec. 22 goes ahead. Further clarity is expected by week’s end …
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) October 27, 2020
Most anticipated a rather quick turnaround from draft to free agency, but this would be extremely soon after draft night. Still, with a camp date of Dec. 1 it makes sense to have free agency begin as quickly as possible and effectively roll it all into one crazy week of league transactions.