Report: No NBA before Christmas Day
FILE — A general view of The Arena at the start of the NBA basketball game between the Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Clippers Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Kevin C. Cox/Pool Photo via AP)
The 2020-21 NBA season will not begin before Christmas Day, league officials told the Board of Governors on Thursday, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
The league also will move the 2020 draft, originally scheduled for June but moved to Oct. 16 amid the coronavirus pandemic, to Nov. 18, he tweeted.
Article continues after this advertisementStill, Charania said, opening day and the draft date “remain fluid.”
By delaying the draft from October, the NBA and the players union would have additional time to amend certain aspects of the collective bargaining agreement and settle on a 2020-21 salary cap and luxury tax, ESPN reported Wednesday.
Moving draft day also would shift the opening of free agency, currently set for Oct. 18.
Article continues after this advertisementThe NBA is finishing the delayed 2019-20 season at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando.
