There is a simple solution to appeasing the NBA playoff teams that are reluctant to start the next season in December
- NBA players will vote on whether to begin the next NBA season December 22.
- A December 22 has benefits for the entire league, but would also create a short offseason for teams that went deep into the playoffs.
- The NBA could stagger the schedule, beginning the season with the 22 teams that didn't go to the bubble and missed the playoffs, and teams that lost in the first round.
- The league could bring back the remaining eight teams 10 days later, giving them more of a rest and creating another national spotlight for their debut games.
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The National Basketball Players Association plans to vote this week on whether to start the next NBA season on December 22, as the league is pushing for, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania.
A start date of January 18 is also a possibility, but according to Charania, many players feel a December 22 start is inevitable.
There has been some pushback on a December 22 start. The 2019-20 season concluded on October 11 in the Disney World bubble. It would be a remarkably short offseason for teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat, who spent three months in the bubble, and for teams that went deep into the playoffs like the Denver Nuggets and Boston Celtics.
It would also compress the offseason into a matter of weeks, with the NBA draft held on November 18, free agency shortly after, and training camps on December 1.
Lakers veteran Danny Green said he doesn't believe Lakers players would want to begin in December. NBPA executive director Michele Roberts said the plan was unpopular with players.
However, the NBA has said there may be $500 million or more in revenue tied to a December start. It would also allow the season to wrap in time for the 2021 Olympics, and get the league closer to its traditional October-June schedule, two aspects that become more difficult with a January start.
If the players do ultimately decide to begin next season on December 22, there is a simple way to appease the teams who need more of an offseason: stagger the schedule.
Stagger the schedule to give playoff teams more time off
Eight NBA teams weren't invited to the bubble. There were six teams that were invited to the bubble that did not make the playoffs. And the first round of the playoffs were wrapped up by September 4, with some series ending in late August.
The Athletic's Ethan Strauss (and perhaps others) suggested bringing back these 22 teams that have been without basketball the longest.
The eight teams that were left in the bubble after the first round — the Lakers, Heat, Celtics, Nuggets, Toronto Raptors, Milwaukee Bucks, Houston Rockets, and LA Clippers — could begin later. Call them the "Elite 8."
The first 22 teams could begin training camps on December 1, go through preseason, and tip-off on December 22.
A big part of the December start includes keeping the NBA's slate of Christmas day games. Though it would lack the punch of the reining champion Lakers, Heat, Clippers, or Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks, the NBA could still easily conjure up enough star power with the following teams:
- Brooklyn Nets, welcoming back Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving
- Golden State Warriors, bringing back Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green
- New Orleans Pelicans, featuring Zion Williamson
- Dallas Mavericks, with Luka Doncic
- Portland Trail Blazers, with Damian Lillard
- Philadelphia 76ers, with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons
These 22 teams could carry the spotlight until:
The Elite 8 begins 10 days later
The Elite 8 teams could begin training camps on December 10, ten days after the first 22 teams. In turn, their regular season could begin ten days after December 22. Their seasons would tip over New Years Weekend, and as Strauss noted, the delay to see teams like the Lakers and Heat may build some anticipation in audiences. The New Years debuts would serve as an additional national spotlight for the NBA, particularly if those eight teams played each other.
An extra 10 days isn't a ton of time, but it would be almost two months to the day of the end of the bubble. A delayed tip for these eight teams might allow them to ramp-up more slowly in training camp, easing their players back into action after a shorter offseason.
A staggered schedule also comes closer to meeting these eight teams halfway to the January 18 start date.
In turn, the 22 teams that begin first could see their schedules spread out more as the season goes on, a benefit of starting earlier.
The NBA will have much bigger issues to tackle this season, from the finances of playing without fans, to playing without a bubble while the coronavirus pandemic surges across the U.S.
But staggering the schedule is at least a compromise to the teams who played deep into the playoffs in the bubble. It may even come with some creative solutions that benefit the other 22 teams.
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