Reports: NBA Desperate to Redeem Rest of the Season

The NBA decided to suspend this season rather than cancel it. Better late than never, seemed to be the motivation behind this decision.

As the Coronavirus outbreak continues, the league continues to devise ways to save this season.

How the NBA is trying to save the season

 

 

The NBA suspended it’s season on 11 March, right after Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive with the dreaded Coronavirus. This decision was immediately implemented. Hence, it was very sudden for everyone associated with it.

Now, the NBA is already thinking about ways to rescue its season. This may be because of the financial losses everyone is suffering due to the shutdown.

According to team executives and media estimations, if the rest of the regular season and postseason are canceled, the losses could go up to a billion dollars.

In an interview with ESPN last week, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he wishes to “believe we’re going to be able to salvage at least some portion of the season.”

“Certainly, (billion-dollar estimates) were never numbers that were coming from league sources,” Silver said.

“The magnitude of the loss will be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, certainly. Probably less than $400 million. Maybe even less than that.”

The answer to the league’s woes may be a tournament in Las Vegas leading to the finals, assuming the circumstances are safe to play.

One speculation is that the NBA will have a shortened season in the sin city that is, Las Vegas. NBA’s executives told CNBC’s Jabari Young, a former NBA beat reporter, that “they favored Las Vegas as a possible location to conclude the season.”

How the season is affecting the league financially

 

 

If the season does not resume, the NBA will need to bear the financial consequences. It will affect the players’ salaries. The NBA’s salary cap, which is directly linked to the league’s revenue, has shown annual declines only twice before. These declines were never by more than $2.3 million.

It is close to impossible to compute the precise economic hit that the NBA’s suspended season will take. However, a high-ranking team executive said that the total damage could reach $40 million per team. It could be more than $1.2 billion if the playoffs are lost.

John Hollinger, a writer for the Athletic estimated that these losses could result in a salary cap decline of $8 million next year. It may easily be the largest ever, even if Silver is able to salvage the playoffs.

Many players who have signed maximum contract extensions before the season will face financial disappointment. For example, star players such as Pascal Siakam and Ben Simmons who have signed such deals with the Toronto Raptors and the Philadephia 76ers respectively.

Their contracts were worth 25 percent of next year’s salary cap figure. Those contracts will drop proportionally with the salary cap, which will cost both players millions in anticipated earnings.

Other than those, free agents set to hit the market this summer would also be taking a hit. Potential suitors will have less spending power than expected. Second-tier players might have to settle. Their deals could convert to one-year contracts and all they can do is keep hope that the NBA has a really good next season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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