The latest reports surrounding the NBA season resuming suggest it’s increasingly likely the Milwaukee Bucks will get a chance to finish what they started.
With 65 games played, and a league-best record of 53-12, the 2019-20 NBA season being forced to go unfinished would have hurt the Milwaukee Bucks more than any other team around the league.
Fortunately, all the latest soundings suggest that’s not currently looking like the most likely direction for the NBA to head in. The unpredictable nature of life in a pandemic means there’s, of course, plenty of time and room for the situation to change, but the prospects of the season resuming are reportedly looking pretty good.
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According to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe, the current expectation is for teams to continue to ramp up their preparations for a restart, with a more concrete plan expected to be finalized in the next few weeks, and a return to play following on from that:
"“Barring an unforeseen turn of events, many NBA owners, executives and National Basketball Players Association elders believe commissioner Adam Silver will green-light the return to play in June — with games expected to resume sometime before the end of July, sources said.”"
There are still notable hurdles to be cleared to make that a reality, including ensuring players who’ve left their markets can return to their teams. At least in the Bucks’ case, all signs point to their players having stayed in the U.S., with the majority in fact having remained in place in their home market in Wisconsin.
Elsewhere, The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Sam Amick have reported ($$) that Walt Disney World in Orlando has gained the upper hand in proposals for potential single site locations to host the remainder of the season.
Although as Keith Smith of Yahoo! Sports, who originally detailed the benefits to the NBA playing at Walt Disney World, has reported, those within Disney are not yet sure if they’ll be hosting the entire league or just a part of it.
Sources from Walt Disney World tell me: "We are confident we'll be hosting the NBA in some fashion. It may not be the entire league, but we believe the NBA will be here to at least finish part of their season. Still hurdles to cross, but we are preparing as if that is the case."
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) May 20, 2020
According to Wojnarowski and Lowe, it’s still possible that the resumption of play is divided into some form of East/West split involving two sites, which would leave a lot still to be worked out in terms of logistics:
"“The NBA is still considering a two-site format for the return of the season, including Orlando’s Walt Disney World and Las Vegas, sources said.The NBA and NBPA are meeting to discuss the structure of a return, including how the league will navigate the possibility of regular-season games, play-in tournaments, playoff formats and whether the full 30 teams will be brought back to finish the season, sources said.”"
The priority for everyone must remain the safety of all of those who’d be required on-site at games, but there’s undoubtedly also a financial imperative to fulfil broadcasting contracts and safeguard the league against colossal losses that would hit players and teams hard in the years ahead.
Based on their current spot in the standings, and their credentials as a bona fide title contender, the Bucks would likely be pleased to at least get a chance to finish a season that they’ve already invested so much into.