The Impact of the NBA's Decision to Suspend Play

Over the last few hours, we have learned that a second Jazz player tested positive for COVID-19. Donovan Mitchell, who was in the Peake Wednesday night, is being confirmed to have coronavirus.

The NBA, as well as several other leagues, are suspending operations, and there is no timetable on when or if they will return to action. The NBA board of governors will talk about its next steps in a conference call today that will take place today at 2:30 central.

Thunder fans I spoke to last night were furious with the Jazz for bringing Rudy Gobert to Oklahoma City. You can't blame them for being upset, on the surface, Utah could have avoided at least some of this mess by leaving Gobert in Salt Lake City if for nothing more than precautionary measures.

Donovan Mitchell, on Instagram, thanks folks who have reached out since the news of his positive test for COVID-19.”Hopefully people can continue to educate themselves and realize they need to behave responsibly both for their own health and the well being of those around them..” pic.twitter.com/78n6HBk78v
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) March 12, 2020

Of course, Mitchell would have still been in the building, and the game would have gone on, and because he may not have shown symptoms, he could have possibly infected Thunder staff, players, media, and spectators. Mitchell spent the Tuesday before the game at Del City high school talking with basketball players and coaches although contact was said to be minimal.

As of now, the NBA still has not issued a plan for refunding the money lost on tickets for games not being played. Hopefully, after today's call, we will know more about that, and what the plan for the rest of the season will be going forward.

The NBA has pushed back a Board of Governors call today by three hours -- now set to start at 3:30 PM ET, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 12, 2020

The latter is a tall ask; right now, the association is a holding pattern. Until the CDC and other health organizations can safely say the spread of COID-19 is under control, the NBA can't make any decisions on their future.

Possible Impacts of the NBA Suspending its Season:

Because Adam Silver's decision to suspend play caused a chain reaction in the entertainment world, hourly works at the Peake could lose a significant amount of income because all events cold be on hold. The coronavirus could be considered an act of God by collective bargaining, which could allow teams not to pay players for games missed.

Business in downtown Oklahoma City will be affected due to less traffic, which could lead to layoffs. And with no money at the gates and a loss of advertising revenue, the salary cap could decrease, meaning the Thunder could be forced to make some tough decisions on players like Chris Paul and Dennis Schroder to stay out of the luxury tax.

Your Time:

Tell us if you were in the Peake on Wednesday and if the NBA should resume playing. Just click the comment box below.