The NBA is reportedly considering contingency plans in case the coronavirus crisis lasts until next season.
Commissioner Adam Silver has told teams to prepare for the possibility that the 2020-21 NBA season will be delayed due to the pandemic, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
The NBA season typically tips off in mid-October, but next season could start in December 2020 and run through June or July of 2021, the report said, and there's some "support" for it within the league.
The scenario has surfaced as the league is confronted with the arrival of May, after most games in March and all in April were suspended. Silver had previously said the league would not make any significant decisions about the fate of this season or the next one prior to May 1.
Despite preparations for worst-case scenarios, Silver remains determined to finish out the 2019-20 season, the report said, and many officials around the league are "optimistic" that the season will be completed.
Last week, as some states and cities began easing lockdown restrictions, the NBA circulated a memo spelling out what the reopening of facilities in the last week of April would look like. Some teams apparently weren't happy with the timing of the return, and the NBA quickly backed off, saying no facilities would open sooner than May 8.
The NBA, like MLB and the NHL, has reportedly been considering a so-called biosphere scenario where teams would play out either the balance of the regular season and/or the playoffs in one or two cities without fans in attendance so as to minimize travel and large gatherings. Disney World in Orlando, Florida, has emerged as a host candidate, the report said, while the league has cooled on the idea of Las Vegas after feedback from teams and players.