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Nets owner Joe Tsai says there is a divide among NBA power brokers on if and when to resume the season.
Which of the 30 teams are the most eager? The most hesitant? No need to look past the frozen standings.
“If you look at the Los Angeles Lakers or Milwaukee Bucks, they are in first place when the season got suspended,” Tsai said last week to a virtual classroom of students at Stanford, where his daughter is a junior.
“There is a chance for them to go to the championship. Of course they want to play. If you are in 28th place, maybe this season isn’t that important. There is a difference in opinion among the owners, as well.”
Playing meaningless games in empty arenas and losing revenue is not going to entice teams in line for the NBA Draft lottery — perhaps even those at the bottom of the playoff picture — to salvage the season.
The Nets currently sit No. 7 in the Eastern Conference but could be a sleeper championship contender if injured stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are healthy enough to play together for the first time when action resumes.
“I’m kind of under a gag order of what I really think the NBA should do,” said Tsai, who is quarantined at his home in Hong Kong. “Everybody is still trying to figure things out, with the hope that maybe we can reopen the current season.”
Tsai said NBA commissioner Adam Silver is primarily focused on safety.
“I think Adam has said, ‘We are not looking at a date.’ Setting a target date doesn’t make any sense,” Tsai said. “Let’s look at the data. I think one of the most important things is, to Dr. [Anthony] Fauci’s point, you have to have enough tests.
“One of the most pernicious things about COVID-19 is you can be asymptomatic and be infectious, so you can infect other people while you look perfectly healthy. That’s a big problem. Without tests to identify those that are contagious, and then we try to isolate them, it’s really very difficult to restart and keep everybody safe and healthy.”
