Report: NBA Telling Teams Coronavirus Suspension 'Aspirational Timeline' is 30 Days
FRISCO - Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban reflected on the COVID-19 scare on Wednesday night by suggesting the NBA's suspension might push basketball to beyond the NBA Finals time of mid-June.
And now, a more definitive timeline, due to the coronavirus outbreak, with the Toronto Star's Bruce Arthur saying the NBA is telling teams that the 30-day mark is an "aspirational timeline.''
The suspension of the 2019-20 season nevertheless officially remains indefinite.
"This,'' Cuban said of this strain of coronavirus and its impact on the NBA and beyond, "is a Black Swan event.''
(Here's our live coverage from the AAC on Tuesday about how the decision came down, and how the Mavs and the rest of the NBA will proceed, featuring some on-the-spot leadership from Cuban.)
On Wednesday night, Cuban also suggested that while all of this is much bigger than basketball - "I’m a lot more worried about my kids and my mom who is 82 years old, in talking to her and telling her to stay in the house, than I am about when we play our next game,'' he said - NBA games could figure to resume later because the league has nothing but open spaces on the calendar following the previously-assumed mid-April end to the NBA Finals.
Cuban suggested the NBA could play "seven or eight'' regular-season games to regain some on-court coordination before moving on to the NBA Playoffs, which he said could last through August.
Ultimately, though, as Cuban said on Wednesday night: "It’s more important for us to get it right.”
