Player agents, executives call for NBA to cancel season: report
Owners point to lack of financial incentive to complete 2019-20 campaign
National Basketball Association executives and player agents are calling on the league to cancel the remainder of the 2019-20 season due to health concerns over the novel coronavirus outbreak, CNBC reported on Thursday.
Talking to executives and agents, CNBC said team owners are concerned with liability issues and are conflicted about whether or not to give up on the current season.
The NBA and National Basketball Players Association (NBAPA) agreed to withhold 25 per cent of players' pay starting next month.
With that issue resolved, CNBC reported that many owners have no desire to return because other sources of revenue are down and despite a massive media rights deal, teams are still reporting losses.
One person told CNBC a western conference team has already lost roughly $50 million US this season and doesn't have much incentive to restart the campaign.
"What [owners] are saying is, 'If we return, where is the revenue that is going to justify the additional cost of returning?'," one team executive said.
"They are looking at the cost side versus the revenue side. What revenue comes in now?"
League hopeful of resuming season
Despite the reservations, the NBA has given every indication it plans to complete the current campaign.
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James responded to the report via Twitter by cautioning the NBA against cancelling the season.
"Saw some reports about execs and agents wanting to cancel season??? That's absolutely not true. Nobody I know saying anything like that. As soon as it's safe we would like to finish our season. I'm ready and our team is ready. Nobody should be canceling anything," James wrote.
The league announced this week it would soon unveil rule changes that will allow teams to open their practice facilities for players to take part in treatment and limited workouts.
The decision created a domino effect with many league and sports quickly following the NBA lead and cancelling or postponing seasons.
A number of scenarios of how the NBA might be able to restart have been floated, including centralizing teams in Las Vegas or the Bahamas and playing games in empty arenas.
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With files from Field Level Media
