Doug Gottlieb: “If you were to guess the most likely scenario for how the NBA returns, what is the scenario?”
Ric Bucher: “That they are in a central location and that they bring everyone in for it and have their playoffs. In talking to GM’s over the last week there is more optimism. I’ve had guys in the league – whether they’re personnel people or GM’s – who basically said that they full expect the season is going to be resumed. Maybe it be some sort of play-in for the seventh spot or the eighth spot, but they fully expect we’re going to have some sort of playoffs in June or July. Tremendous optimism, and that wasn’t when I was looking at this initially, but it seems to have shifted the other way… It’s getting everyone together, testing them, the NBA creating a bubble in a particular location, and then playing games in a place like Vegas where you would have plenty of available hotel space and multiple stadiums… No fans but I can see a way in which we are going to have games at some point this summer.” (Full Interview Above)
Listen to NBA insider Ric Bucher explain to Doug Gottlieb why he fully expects the NBA will resume play this season, as the sports world continues to be in an awkward juxtaposition at the mercy of the coronavirus pandemic.
The NBA suspended its season on March 11th, 2020 when Utah Jazz All-Star Rudy Gobert became the first player to test position for COVID-19.
After initially saying he thought there was a 60% chance that the NBA would outright cancel its season, Bucher is now reporting that there a is sweeping sentiment around NBA circles that the league fully expects its season to continue sometime this summer in June or July, and that the shortened season would feature a postseason in a centralized location without fans.
Check out the full interview above.