After the Centers for Disease Contol and Prevention announced its recommendation that no events consisting of 50 people or more be held over the next eight weeks in the U.S., it became clear the NBA would have to hold the 2020 NBA Playoffs deep into the summer if a champion were to be crowned.
Only a few days have gone by since the league suspended games, but players and fans are already feeling the impact. And it’s not like they have Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League or some other major sport to turn to. They’ve all be put on hold and will be impacted by the CDC’s recommendation.
At this stage, ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting the NBA is looking at the possibility of picking up play in mid-to-late June, “as a best-case scenario.” This could lead to the 2020 NBA Finals being played well into August.
If games do pick up again in June, this could make it possible for Kevin Durant to make his Brooklyn Nets debut in 2019-20.
Even if the NBA decided to pick things up right at the start of the postseason — regardless of whether or not they take Spencer Dinwiddie’s advice — the Nets would be in the mix. Brooklyn was the No. 7 team in the Eastern Conference at the stoppage of play. And June is well past when the first round of the NBA Playoffs would have started — the 2019 NBA Finals ended on June 13.
But don’t expect Durant to answer, “Will you be back this year?” anytime soon. He’s still finding ways to survive without the game like the rest of us:
Still, until the NBA cancels the 2019-20 season and the playoffs with it, there is now room again to wonder if Nets fans will see Durant play in a Brooklyn uniform this year.
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