LeBron: Lakers ready to play despite call to cancel NBA
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James said Thursday he’s ready for the NBA to return, refuting a report some agents and team executives want the league to scrap the 2019-20 season.
The NBA halted the current campaign on March 12 after Utah’s Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus.
Article continues after this advertisementCNBC reported Thursday that unnamed player agents and club executives say team owners worry about liability issues due to health concerns and a lack of revenue from playing in an empty arena for a television audience.
“Saw some reports about execs and agents wanting to cancel season??? That’s absolutely not true,” James wrote in a Twitter posting.
Article continues after this advertisement“Nobody I know saying anything like that. As soon as it’s safe we would like to finish our season. I’m ready and our team is ready. Nobody should be canceling anything.”
Saw some reports about execs and agents wanting to cancel season??? That’s absolutely not true. Nobody I know saying anything like that. As soon as it’s safe we would like to finish our season. I’m ready and our team is ready. Nobody should be canceling anything. 👑
— LeBron James (@KingJames) April 30, 2020
The Lakers boasted the best record in the Western Conference, and the second-best in the league, at 49-14 when the league shut down with about a month of the regular season remaining, plus two months of playoffs.
“It is the responsibility of the league office to explore all options for a return to play this season,” an NBA spokesman told CNBC.
“We owe that to our fans, teams, players, partners and all who love the game. While our top priority remains everyone’s health and well-being, we continue to evaluate all options to finish this season.
“At the same time we’re intensely focused on addressing the potential impact of COID-19 on the 2020-21 season.”
The league says players could begin individual workouts will be permitted at team facilities starting May 8 in areas where governments permit it, a small step on the path to resuming play but far from a timetable that many fans hope to hear in May.
NBA ownership groups include many business partners who are losing money in other investments due to the coronavirus shutdown, the report noted.
“Some of them are looking at vast losses outside of just their basketball team,” Andy Dolich, the Memphis Grizzlies former president of business operations, told CNBC.