NBA Rumors: Latest Board of Governors Call Issues Hope for Saving 76ers Season
Now that the NBA suspension has spanned over two months, the league is getting closer to making a decision. Will the Philadelphia 76ers have a chance to return to action this year? While it's not quite a guarantee at the moment, the latest Board of Governors call with NBA owners and executives has offered hope.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver left Monday's virtual meeting feeling "increasingly positive about the league's momentum toward a resumption of play this season," according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
As we already know, it's far too early to make a decision on whether the NBA will return to action or not. However, for the first time since the NBA went on a hiatus, Commissioner Silver has set a timetable in place for the decision-making process.
Late last week, Silver said it could take up until the end of June before the league makes its decision. On Monday, however, Silver mentioned on the call that the decision on whether the season should continue or wrap up entirely should be made in the next two-to-four weeks, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania.
What Needs to Happen?
As we know, the NBA has been paying attention to two key factors. One is a decrease in the number of COVID-19 infections. Two is the ability to obtain thousands of rapid-response tests. Without both of those factors in place, the NBA will more than likely call it quits on the season.
The good news is that the league seems hopeful that won't be the case. If the NBA does plan to return to action, a "campus environment" (aka Bubble City) would be utilized. At this point, it's become evident that Las Vegas and Disney World in Orlando are the target areas -- and nothing about that has changed since last week.
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Right now, everything is moving in the right direction for the NBA. A few weeks ago, Adam Silver seemed neutral on the idea of resuming the season. This week, the mood of the NBA is encouraging -- and sometime this summer, the Philadelphia 76ers just might get a chance to find closure on the 2019-2020 season.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_