NBA News: Another Owners Meeting is Set in Place This Week

When the 2019-2020 NBA season began, nobody could've guessed this is where we would be right now. As the start of March approached, the coronavirus pandemic was starting to spread like wildfire around the United States of America.

Over the last week or so, the NBA started firing up discussions to look for ways to prevent the virus from spreading to players, coaches, fans, and other staff members in arenas. Two weekends ago, the league started taking baby steps for prevention.

It all started with stripping away locker room access from the media. There were also talks about taking it as far as keeping fans out of arenas to avoid the virus from spreading to anybody during an NBA game. Unfortunately, the NBA waited too late for that plan.

By the time last Wednesday rolled around, the league was left with no choice but to suspend the season until further notice after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. The following morning, Gobert's teammate, Donovan Mitchell, was added to the shortlist of players, who tested positive too.

Now here we are, nearly a week later, and five more players around the NBA have tested positive, with more results left to come. It's unclear if that list will expand or not in the coming days, but soon, the NBA will have to make some tough decisions on the season.

This week, changes could be coming as early as today. On Monday, it has been revealed that an NBA Board of Governors meeting between owners and the commissioner Adam Silver is set to take place on Tuesday, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

What we know at this moment is that all league transactions are frozen, teams aren't allowed to hold practices (aside from individual workouts), and the hiatus will remain in place for at least 30 days since the start of the suspension last Thursday.

Considering the unpredictable situation the country is currently in with the pandemic, it's highly unlikely the NBA finds a return date before the 30-day evaluation period is up. Therefore, the next Board of Governors meeting will likely be about the plan upon returning, whenever that may be.

Some reports out there have indicated the ban on fans attending games could be set in place initially when the league comes back. Also, teams might have to play somewhere other than their home arenas if later dates aren't available.

There's going to be a significant list of topics to discuss, and according to Woj, whatever gets analyzed during Tuesday's meeting, the league will "eventually have to make decisions" despite being in an extremely tough situation.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_