Report: Silver tells Trump leagues want to lead economic restart when safe

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NBA commissioner Adam Silver told President Donald Trump on Saturday that sports leagues would love to lead an economic restart once given the "all clear" from public health officials, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter and Adrian Wojnarowski.

Silver was on a conference call with Trump and other top North American sports executives.

The NBA was the first professional league based in the United States to suspend its season, doing so on March 11 immediately following news of Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert's positive test for the novel coronavirus.

The day after the NBA's landmark decision, the NHL announced its own campaign is paused indefinitely. MLB also later confirmed play wouldn't begin as scheduled.

The NFL's 2020 season isn't slated to kick off until September. However, Dr. Allen Sills, the league's chief medical officer, said Thursday that games are unlikely to be held if widespread coronavirus testing is still unavailable by then. Despite Sills' caution, Trump reportedly told commissioners during Saturday's call that he expects the football season to still start on time.

There's still no general time frame for a potential NBA return amid the pandemic. During recent talks with the players' union, the league reportedly angled to set up a deal allowing it to shut down the 2019-20 season entirely.