The NBA and the NBPA have announced that they have agreed to push back certain dates including the NBA draft (October 16th) and the start of free agency (October 18th).
In addition to this, the start date of the season itself (originally scheduled for early December) has been delayed.
The news was first broken by The Athletic‘s Shams Charania.
There are many questions to be asked after this decision. Why the delay? Is there something the NBA knows that we don’t? Or is it the lack of knowledge surrounding this pandemic that led to this delay.
Whatever the case, the most important thing to take note of is not that the dates have been moved back, but that the new dates have yet to be determined.
Just how far back are these earlier events going to be moved? Halloween? Thanksgiving? are we going to go all the way into December?
And what about the start of the season? At this point, it seems unlikely that it would even start in 2020.
No one can say with certainty but with the NBA Finals scheduled around the middle of October, it is likely, or rather hopeful, that the draft would take place at the end of the month. After that, Free Agency won’t be far behind.
If that is in fact the case, then the season at its earliest would officially start in 2021. That’s the best-case-scenario.
Hopefully, more answers will come towards the end of the month. Until then, there is no choice but to wait patiently.
As far as how it affects the Sixers’, it’s not the worst news as they should not rush this offseason. Elton Brand should take his time to avoid mistakes. One decision to focus on is the Sixers need for a Head Coach.
Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire
