NBA mulling June resumption

The NBA's season－on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic－could be suspended for at least three months, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Sunday night.

Per the report, owners and executives are bracing for the possibility of mid-to-late June being the best-case scenario for play to resume. In a normal year, the NBA Finals would be over at that stage.

When the season was suspended on Wednesday night, about a month's worth of regular-season games remained. The postseason typically runs from mid-April through early-to-mid June.

Wojnarowski reported fears exist that the season might not resume, but the league is considering a variety of creative options for a possible return.

With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommending that gatherings of 50 or more people should be avoided for the next eight weeks, one plan could involve a return without fans, perhaps even playing games in smaller venues like practice facilities and a different television experience.

The report adds that teams are exploring the availability of venues through August for the playoffs, and that a financial report is expected to be presented to owners soon. That report would include projections on expected revenue that would be lost if the remainder of the season is canceled, if it resumes at some point without fans or if the playoffs are staged without fans.

Meanwhile, The Athletic reports the league has informed teams that players can begin traveling outside of their home market beginning on Monday, with the requirements that they provide their whereabouts, remain at home and practice social distancing.

According to ESPN, the league extended its ban on team practices indefinitely, though players remain allowed to work out at team facilities on their own.

Earlier on Sunday, ESPN reported that the G League, the NBA's minor-league system, is expected to have what's left of its season called off.

The NBA was the first major sports league in America to suspend its season, doing so on Wednesday after news emerged of Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert's positive test for the virus. All other leagues in the US have quickly followed suit.

Gobert sorry

Gobert, whose coronavirus diagnosis last Wednesday was the first domino that effectively shut down American sports, regrets not having taken the threat more seriously, he wrote in a social media post on Sunday.

"I've been feeling a little better every single day," the 27-year-old Frenchman said on the NBA's Twitter feed.

Gobert was diagnosed with the virus two days after playfully touching reporters' microphones and recorders at the end of a news conference.

"I wish I would have took this thing more seriously and I hope everyone else will do so," he said on Sunday.

News of Gobert's diagnosis minutes before the scheduled tip-off of a game between the Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder led to the surreal scene of a member of the Thunder's medical staff running onto the court to tell the referees, while the players were warming up.

The officials then consulted both coaches in a huddle for several minutes before sending the players back to the locker room, with the game canceled.

Gobert's Jazz teammate and fellow All-Star Donovan Mitchell tested positive last Thursday.

Reuters