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The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has recommended that in-person events consisting of 50 people or more should be cancelled or postponed for the next 8 weeks. As a result, according to Adrian Wojnarowski, the owners are looking at their options. One of which involves a “best case scenario” of starting the games in mid-to-late June in games without fans.
CDC recommendation of no events of 50-plus people for next two months comes as a number of NBA owners and executives increasingly believe a best case scenario is a mid-to-late June return to play -- with no fans. League's scouting for possible arena dates all the way thru August.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 15, 2020
I don’t want to speculate too much, but I would imagine that all kinds of scenarios are on the table right now.
Update: In Woj’s story, he does state that “fears exist of a season completely lost.” However, they are looking at a lot of options.
For now, there’s a working plan that games would return without fans, and teams have been told to search out arena dates well into August for the playoffs, sources said. Teams have been directed to give the league office potential dates at smaller nearby game venues, including team practice facilities, that could spare the use of empty, cavernous arenas and possibly provide backdrops to unique television viewing lines.
In related news:
@MayoClinic has begun rolling out a test to detect the virus that causes COVID-19. My hope is that we can fight this virus quicker and more efficiently by increasing the testing capabilities and availability and Mayo Clinic’s overall COVID-19 response. pic.twitter.com/af9vcO711p
— Karl-Anthony Towns (@KarlTowns) March 16, 2020