Report: NBA Coronavirus Suspension Could Last Until 'Mid-to-Late June'
NBA owners and executives believe the league returning in June is a "best case scenario" amid the coronavirus outbreak, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
The league's stance comes on the heels of a CDC recommendation that no events are held with 50-plus people for the next two months, per Wojnarowski. The NBA is reportedly likely to hold games without fans whenever the 2019-20 season resumes.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban suggested on Wednesday that the NBA season could last until late August. The notion was supported by Wojnarowski on Sunday, who wrote that the NBA is "scouting for possible arena dates all the way [through] August."
The NBA is not the only league that could see play suspended until June. The MLB also views a June return as a "welcome" return date, two months longer than its best-case-scenario of an April 9 return, according to the MLB Network's Jon Heyman.
The Rockets are currently allowed only limited contact with the team's players during the suspension, per the NBA's policies. Houston head coach Mike D'Antoni discussed the league's protocols on Friday, noting his confidence that James Harden and Co. will stay ready to return to the floor during their time away from the Rockets.
"For right now, individually, players have to [train] on their own," D'Antoni told SportsTalk 790 in Houston. "And our guys know what to do anyway, and they do have one trainer they can see anyway. ...Individuals will have to take care of their own bodies."
The Rockets will return from their likely months-long break No. 6 in the Western Conference at 40–24. They will face the Lakers in their first game back barring any change to the 2019-20 schedule.
