Silver: 'Too much unknown to set a timeline' for NBA return
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Following Friday's scheduled board of governors meeting, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he's still not in a position to suggest when the league can return from its lengthy stoppage due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"As I sit here today, there's too much unknown to set a timeline and even too much unknown to say, 'Here are the variables,'" Silver said in a conference call, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, suggested earlier in the week that measures including barring spectators from arenas, frequent testing, and effectively quarantining entire teams could allow the possibility of sports returning in 2020.
Silver acknowledged in Friday's call that the league has "only listened" to the possibility of returning to play games in a "bubble-like" environment, according to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne.
The league hasn't hosted games since March 11, when Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert became the first NBA player to test positive for COVID-19. Players who have been publicly confirmed as testing positive include Gobert's Jazz teammate Donovan Mitchell, Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant, Detroit Pistons big Christian Wood, and Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart.
Silver revealed that more players have tested positive for COVID-19, but that information has been kept private as the individuals do not pose a risk to the general public, according to USA Today's Mark Medina.