Earlier this morning it was reported by Jabari Young and CNBC that in recent weeks some NBA team executives and players’ agents were “calling on the league to cancel the rest of the season”. LeBron James decided to set the record straight from his own personal experience, airing out his thoughts on Twitter today.
Saw some reports about execs and agents wanting to cancel season??? That’s absolutely not true. Nobody I know saying anything like that. As soon as it’s safe we would like to finish our season. I’m ready and our team is ready. Nobody should be canceling anything. 👑
— LeBron James (@KingJames) April 30, 2020
Although it’s expected that the main conversation drivers in NBA meetings on coronavirus are team owners and executives, if there was ever one player to have a seat at the table it’d be LeBron James. That precedent was easily seen on Twitter after LeBron tweeted that, as it immediately went viral. You’d probably be safe in assuming that the same tweet from Avery Bradley wouldn’t gain as much attention as a LeBron James tweet.
Later, San Antonio Express-News sports columnist, Mike Finger, reported the following in a tweet.
RC Buford says he just got off call with NBA team presidents.
"Every intention is to return to play."
— Mike Finger (@mikefinger) April 30, 2020
The entire CNBC report seems to have been squashed from this, as RC Buford (CEO of the San Antonio Spurs) is one of the most revered and respected executives in the entire NBA. The fact that he made clear to Finger that he and the other team presidents continue to work towards a return to basketball is definitely encouraging.
Even though the NBA and its owners, players, and agents continue to strive towards resuming the NBA season, it becomes more unlikely with every day that passes. The NBA won’t return without a stamp of approval from the government as well as top health officials, with commissioner Adam Silver continually stressing that they are not sure when that moment will come. NBA fans can rest assured though that everyone involved wants to grab as much money as they can, with those individuals involved probably going to great lengths to resume the season. Just yesterday, it was reported that the season could resume at the facilities in Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando.