Philadelphia 76ers: Everything We Know About NBA's Postponed Season

In hindsight, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Detroit Pistons probably shouldn't have played against each other on Wednesday. Well, not in front of fans, at least. But it's too late for that now. Both parties, the NBA included, knew that playing games during the coronavirus pandemic was increasingly becoming riskier.

The league was beginning to trend toward making a change, but it wouldn't come before two members of the Utah Jazz tested positive for COVID-19. Once the NBA caught wind of that information, they not only eliminated fans from attending -- they also postponed the entire season until further notice.

For the Sixers, they had 17 games left on the year after defeating Detroit on Wednesday. Next month, Philly and the rest of the qualifying teams would begin the NBA Playoffs as planned. With the country in a crisis now, though, nobody knows when basketball, baseball, soccer, hockey, or any other canceled spots will return.

On Thursday, NBA commissioner Adam Silver, along with team owners and governors, attempted to come up with a plan moving forward. Since they are still learning about everything like the rest of us, there aren't any concrete details to offer up a definitive return date for the season. However, the league and the Sixers have offered up some details about what happens next, and we'll list as such. . .

A Full Cleanse For the Wells Fargo Center

On Wednesday, the Sixers played the final event at the Wells Fargo Center. With the news of all sports league's postponing, the venue announced it would take the time to do a full cleanse in the building. Initially, it seemed as if all non-sporting events would continue after the cleaning is complete, but The Center's ownership took it a step farther.

All sports, concerts, and other entertainment events scheduled at the Wells Fargo Center are either canceled or postponed for the moment. In order to complete its full cleanse, it's going to take some time.

Plus, the City of Philadelphia has urged its residents to avoid large crowds. Therefore, the Wells Fargo Center is closed down from the public until after March 31st. So even if the NBA planned to return before then, the Sixers wouldn't be allowed to host any home games for the time being.

When Does the NBA Return?

When the NBA decided to shut down on Wednesday night temporarily, league officials urged recent opponents of the Utah Jazz to self-quarantine for 14 days. That right there made it clear that the postponement would last at least two weeks.

On Thursday afternoon, another owners meeting went down to discuss how the league will operate moving forward. The general consensus coming from the conference call pushed for the NBA to remain on a hiatus for the next 30 days. Later on, Commissioner Adam Silver confirmed that would be the case on NBA TV on TNT.

While 30 days doesn't mark the exact return for the league -- it's a good idea of how long we'll be without basketball for. The wait could be longer. Not having a clear-cut return is unfortunate, but at least there's tons of transparency on the situation. Admittedly, the NBA isn't sure how much worse or better the situation can get. Playing the waiting game is the most logical thing to do in this situation.

What do the Sixers do in the Meantime?

As of Thursday, all members of the Philadelphia 76ers were told to self-quarantine for the next 14 days. Since the Sixers faced the Pistons, who played the Jazz just last Saturday, the team is told to play it safe, as they might've been in contact with somebody who has contracted the virus on Detroit's team.

The Pistons did put out a statement on Thursday afternoon, assuring everybody that none of their players are having symptoms. Still, there wasn't any confirmation if anybody had gotten tested just yet.

According to NBC Sports Philadelphia's John Clark, the Sixers are arranging tests for their players, coaches, and staff to see if they've steered clear from the virus lately. Also, the team's medical staff is making daily calls to its players to check up on them. So far, nobody within the organization has reportedly undergone testing.

For the next couple of days or so, players will have to sit tight. According to Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes, the NBA is prohibiting group workouts until March 16th. And even when the workout ban is lifted, players are still urged to have solo workouts in only one area of the practice facility at a time. It could be that way for a little while.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_