NBA 2020-21 Thread

[rudel.dietrich]

I held off on this for a week or so since it was not for certain if the league would come back in late December or not.
There was some understandable pushback from the players on getting another season started so quickly.
But in the end, the money was just too great to pass up. The NBA CBA splits revenue 50/50. So of the 1 billion dollars, they were going to potentially miss out on 500 million towards players' salaries.
The salary cap is going to have to go down at some point. But I think the league and the players want it to go down smoothly instead of one large decrease.
If they did not start the season until February or March then the salary cap would have to have taken a larger dip.

Also, the league, while it cares about this upcoming season, is looking ahead to try and get the 2021-2022 season back to the typical October-June format.
They saw during the past bubble attempt that playing in August and September did not work, and putting their playoff games up against the NFL regular season they were getting crushed.

This will be a very interesting next few weeks, the draft, free agency, and training camps will have to be done in very short order.
I don't know if they are even going to attempt some sort of 'summer league' for the incoming rookie class.
Will they play any pre-season games at all?

Still many questions to be answered. But we do know that we are getting the season back on December 22nd and it will be 72 games.
I would also think that the mini play in tournament between the 8th seed and 9th seed will make a return. It was very popular.
I have also heard that all-stars will be named but no game will be played unless the virus situation is drastically different.
I have also heard that after around 40 games are played, all teams will get a two week break for rest and so that the league can reevaluate if any fans can return to the arenas.

Selfishly, I am thankful that I am going to get professional basketball back in my life so quickly. I do feel somewhat for the players in that the turn around time will be so quick for some of them.
On the other hand, the eight teams that did not make the bubble have not played a meaningful game since mid March.
On the other hand, the playoff teams had their seasons end only in September and early October.

Whatever happens, it will be a wild offseason and even wilder season.

[thehef]

Are they going to do bubble-ball for the first 40 games, or are they planning empty arenas until then? (Haven't really followed NBA closely since prior to the bubble.)

[rudel.dietrich]

Originally Posted by thehef

Are they going to do bubble-ball for the first 40 games, or are they planning empty arenas until then? (Haven't really followed NBA closely since prior to the bubble.)

Playing in their own arenas. It is up to the individual states and teams to decide on fans.
The NBA is a bit more cautious than other sports so it would not surprise me if all 30 teams did no fans until the break and then took a look at the state of the virus.

Neither the league or the players wanted to do the bubble again. It was hard on the players mentally. And the league did not want to do it since it cost them so much money. I heard that it cost the NBA as much as one million dollars a day. As much as $150 million for the entire bubble.

After over a decade of huge growth the league is almost out of cash reserves.

The only team sport that is going to try another bubble is I think the NHL. And that is because of the mixture of American and Canadian teams and the Canadian government does not want American teams entering their country without a 10 day quarantine which is not possible with sports.

The Raptors and teams that play the Raptors may get exemptions if the quality and accuracy of rapid tests improve.
If not, then a few cities have already shown high interest on hosting the Raptors for the season. Kansas City and Nashville are thought to be the two leaders at the moment.

Finally, to cut down on travel, teams will only play in conference. i.e we will not see the Lakers and Heat play one another.
Also teams may take longer road trips.
For example, Denver might take a 3 week road trip and play both LA teams 4 times in 7 days. Then play Golden State twice home and home and then finish at Golden State with two games.
That would mean they would not need to travel to California at all for the rest of the season.
Teams would do similar things against the Texas teams, New York-Philly teams and Florida teams.

Finally, I am not sure, but I suspect the NBA will allow expanded rosters and ease the rules on 10 day players and two way contacts.
Positive COVID cases are inevitable no matter how careful teams and staffs are. I would think teams more than ever would shuttle players back and forth between G-League and NBA to keep players fresh and if a player tests positive and you need a quick replacement for a few weeks.

Other more experimental ideas would be to go back to letting all teams amnesty one player contract again and having the buyout market be the entire season.

We will see the details over the next week or so. We are very quickly coming up on the draft and I don’t think the rookies will get a “summer league”
That will put them behind the 8 ball already.

[thehef]

Great summary. Thanks!!!

Re this:

Originally Posted by rudel.dietrich

The Raptors and teams that play the Raptors may get exemptions if the quality and accuracy of rapid tests improve.
If not, then a few cities have already shown high interest on hosting the Raptors for the season. Kansas City and Nashville are thought to be the two leaders at the moment.

I'm surprised that Buffalo, given its proximity to Toronto, isn't in the mix. I would assume that most staff lives in the Toronto area, and that the players either live there, or live their parttime. So I'd think they'd all want to be much closer to home (compared to KC or Nashville).

[rudel.dietrich]

Originally Posted by thehef

Great summary. Thanks!!!

Re this:


I'm surprised that Buffalo, given its proximity to Toronto, isn't in the mix. I would assume that most staff lives in the Toronto area, and that the players either live there, or live their parttime. So I'd think they'd all want to be much closer to home (compared to KC or Nashville).

Buffalo is in the mix, but once you cross that border it really does not matter. You could play right on the border but actually crossing it during the pandemic is where the rub comes in. To enter Canada from the US to my knowledge is a 10-day self quarantine.

And this is really an opportunity for the NBA to test out new markets for possible expansion down the line.
It is no secret that the NBA wants to go to 32 teams in the near future and 34 teams in the mid term future. This will be a chance to try out a market in the eastern half of the US.

Louisville was thought to be an early contender for the Raptors but that seems to have fallen apart.
Buffalo/Rochester/Syracuse was also an idea. Even Detroit offered to share Little Ceasers arena with the Raptors. The Pistons would play on the road while the Raptors were home and vice versa. But the limited practice facilities were an issue.

Virginia Beach or Hampton Roads also got some play. That is a basketball hotbed with the best TV ratings per capita of anywhere in the US.

Nashville has really burst onto the scene in the last week and has straight up told the NBA they want the Raptors for this upcoming season and from what I have been told, really impressed the NBA with a plan to house the players, and their health and safety plan was well thought out and detailed. Also Bridgestone Arena in Nashville put forth a solid plan along side the city.
The Raptors front office has visited several cities and liked the Nashville and Kansas City offers the best.
Nashville is a fast growing city and really wants another pro sports team whether it's baseball or basketball.

I don't think they will be lacking in options for this upcoming season. It will be hard on the players, but I think they can have their families/friends with them from day one unlike in the bubble.

[MBarrett]

RE: Raptors - It won't be Kansas City and Nashville is a long shot. Both for reasons you stated above, most if not all games will be in-division and neither of those cities are close enough to the rest of the division. The league wants to minimize travel as much as possible. It's gonna be Buffalo.

[rudel.dietrich]

Originally Posted by MBarrett

RE: Raptors - It won't be Kansas City and Nashville is a long shot. Both for reasons you stated above, most if not all games will be in-division and neither of those cities are close enough to the rest of the division. The league wants to minimize travel as much as possible. It's gonna be Buffalo.

The good thing for the Raptors and the league is that several cities actually want to host the Raptors. From a health and safety and money perspective that can only be a good thing.

Above all, the Raptors really want to stay in Canada. But that would mean that rapid testing results and availability would have to be vastly better in the next 44 days and I do not see that happening.
The Raptors playing in any city in the eastern US would not surprise me. Including Buffalo. But it is by no means settled.

[kenyan_cheena]

Hey Rudel, where did you hear that teams will only be playing within their conference? I’ve heard about them using MLB-style series play, but nothing about no east v west games. If it is true, the west is going to be insane. Those teams will really have to earn a playoff spot.

Also, have they announced yet when teams can start trading?

[rudel.dietrich]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

Hey Rudel, where did you hear that teams will only be playing within their conference? I’ve heard about them using MLB-style series play, but nothing about no east v west games. If it is true, the west is going to be insane. Those teams will really have to earn a playoff spot.

Also, have they announced yet when teams can start trading?

I am not so sure about playing in their own conference now. It had been mentioned as a possibility to cut down on travel. But now I think it is possible that cross conference play is still possible.

As far as trading, it has already started. It just can't become official until after the draft.
Players are talking to agents, those agents are talking to front offices and front offices are talking to other front offices.
Apparently, some free agent deals have already been agreed upon in principle. They just need the go ahead from the league.

I have heard possibly the Friday after the draft that things could get started. So that would be November 20th. But nothing is set in stone yet.

[kenyan_cheena]

Thanks. It’ll be interesting to see how they work out the schedule with ten less games available. I’m assuming they will reduce the amount of east v west games because of it.

[rudel.dietrich]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

Thanks. It’ll be interesting to see how they work out the schedule with ten less games available. I’m assuming they will reduce the amount of east v west games because of it.

Health and safety is first and foremost after of course getting the games played to get in as much money as they can.
At least 70 games have to be played in order to fulfill most teams RSNs which makes up a massive chunk of most teams income.
The league is still expected to lose close to 4.5 billion dollars this upcoming season. If everything was normal the league expected income to be close to 10 billion.

[rudel.dietrich]

And we are off to the races!
Teams can begin to trade as early as today at noon EST.
The draft is this Wednesday. Free agency starts at 12:01 Friday morning.

Team training camps open on December 1st. Season begins on December 22nd
It is going to be a wild next six weeks.

[rudel.dietrich]

Oklahoma City is making moves. Chris Paul and his massive contract are gone to the Suns. Dennis Schröder who was a sixth man candidate last season is gone to the Lakers.
The Thunder now have a much cheaper roster and even more first round picks over the next six seasons.

[rudel.dietrich]

The Bucks are putting a lot on the line to try and build around Giannis. If he ends up leaving, then those two first rounders they traded away could hurt. The Pelicans got a similar haul for Holiday as they did for Davis.
With this years free agency class being so bad I can see teams overpaying in the trade market.

I think the trade make the Bucks slightly better, but their playoff woes are real and I am not sure this fixes them.

[rudel.dietrich]

Klay Thompson tore his Achilles’ tendon in practice and will miss the entire season.
That is sad news as the NBA is a better sport with him playing. And this will make two straight seasons that he will have not played a single game.

It also opens up the western conference a bit more.

[Déjà Bru]

I'll just sneak in here to say that there are comments being bandied about that the Knicks seem to be making smart moves now. Not just the draft but certain roster moves about to be announced. Refreshing, if so.

[rudel.dietrich]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

I'll just sneak in here to say that there are comments being bandied about that the Knicks seem to be making smart moves now. Not just the draft but certain roster moves about to be announced. Refreshing, if so.

Remains to be seen. But they do seem to have a better direction in the front office though.
I still have questions about your coach and whether or not he is actually good.

[Déjà Bru]

This is being hailed today:

Knicks sign Seton Hall's Myles Powell as Leon Rose reshapes roster swiftly

as well as these moves:

The Knicks waived Elfrid Payton, Wayne Ellington and Taj Gibson, who had partial guarantees on their contracts.

The Knicks did not pick up the team options for Bobby Portis and Theo Pinson and also waived Kenny Wooten, who had a two-way contract.

The Knicks also did not make a qualifying offer to Damyean Dotson, which allows him to enter free agency as an unrestricted free agent.

The Knicks waived Elfrid Payton, Wayne Ellington and Taj Gibson, who had partial guarantees on their contracts.

The Knicks did not pick up the team options for Bobby Portis and Theo Pinson and also waived Kenny Wooten, who had a two-way contract.

The Knicks also did not make a qualifying offer to Damyean Dotson, which allows him to enter free agency as an unrestricted free agent.

They can still bring back the players who were waived on lesser contracts, but the moves provided the Knicks' front office with more cap space and flexibility as free agency begins Friday evening and the trade market already has begun.

[rudel.dietrich]

Yeah, the Knicks needed to free up a lot of roster space and money and they did that by waiving players who have no future on the team.
They have a logjam in the front court after picking Toppin. But maybe they can find a trade to ship out Randle.

The Knicks are still awful. I think they are a bottom three team on talent.
But the new front office is at least competent which is a difference from how it has been.

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by rudel.dietrich

The Knicks are still awful. I think they are a bottom three team on talent.
But the new front office is at least competent which is a difference from how it has been.

God, it's too much to hope for. I don't want to hope.