NBPA's Roberts: Proposed Dec. 1 start for 2020-21 season is surprising
National Basketball Players Association executive director Michele Roberts says the league's announcement that it's targeting a Dec. 1 start date for the 2020-21 season caught her off guard.
"I was surprised to see it," Roberts told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on Thursday.
The NBA's board of governors voted on Thursday to approve a return-to-play plan for the remainder of the 2019-20 regular season. Under current projections, the 2020 NBA Finals will likely be played in early October, with a possible Game 7 scheduled for as late as Oct. 12.
The league is also reportedly aiming to begin preseason training camps for the 2020-21 campaign on Nov. 10. That would potentially leave players who competed in The Finals with less than one month off before beginning to prepare for the new season. On the other hand, the eight teams not invited to this season's resumption in Orlando will have been off for nearly nine months at that point.
Team union representatives are reportedly expected to approve the return-to-play plan in a conference call Friday. However, any changes to the NBA's calendar need to be collectively bargained between the players' union and the league, Wojnarowski notes.