Report: NBA, Players Union Entering Moratorium During Suspension
With the coronavirus outbreak in the United States of America, all major sports leagues have been put on hold. The trend started this past Wednesday night, as the NBA realized that just merely stopping fans from entering arenas won't prevent people from getting affected by the virus.
When the Philadelphia 76ers and the Detroit Pistons wrapped up their matchup on Wednesday night, groundbreaking news came about as another NBA game was canceled as one team feared its ill player might've had what everybody is avoiding.
As it turns out -- it was true. Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. From that point, the NBA called the season off -- for the time being, at least. As of Friday, there have been plenty of updates, which I've listed here. However, the league does not have a scheduled return at the moment.
Because of that, the NBA's players union had to come up with an agreement, so there aren't any changes for the time being. According to The Athletic's NBA Insider, Shams Charania, the NBA, and the union are "planning to enter agreement for a moratorium period during [the league's] hiatus."
The agreement would ensure that no team/player transactions can go through -- essentially freezing everything until an agreed date. The discussed transactions included trades, signings, player or team options, and ten-day contracts.
Per Charania, the period is agreed to remain effective from March 12th until April 10th. After that, the agreement will be re-assessed, depending on where everything is at in regards to the NBA's upcoming return. What we know right now is that the NBA is postponed for 30 days. What we don't know is when and where the league will resume.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_