As the NBA moves toward what many predict will be the resolution of a plan that will have 22 of the league’s 30 teams resume play in July, Oklahoma City Thunder owner Clay Bennett made the case for all 30 teams to be brought back.
Bennett made his case on Friday’s call with the NBA’s Board of Governors, and the news was reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe.
For quite some time, the NBA’s owners are routinely considered to have individual disagreements along certain boundaries, with small market teams and big market teams often seeking to protect their own individual interests. Sometimes, that would naturally come at the expense of the other side.
With the league wanting to play as many games as possible but also wanting to keep its players safe, a necessary balance must be struck. However, with the 2020-21 season not expected to tip-off until December, Bennett pointed out the difficulty that some teams may have with their operations by not playing meaningful games for nine months. The NBA suspended play on March 11.
As the NBA moves toward a plan of inviting 22 teams to restart a truncated season in late July, sources told ESPN, Bennett spoke of exhausting ways to accommodate non-playoff teams still wanting to play. He wondered: Was there a way to safely bring back all 30 teams?
On June 4, the Board of Governors is expected to approve the final plan put forward by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, and although it is likely to exclude teams that have already been eliminated from playoff competition, Bennett made the argument for the small market teams.
It should be pointed out that, at 40-24, the Thunder rank fifth in the Western Conference and trail the fourth-seeded Houston Rockets by just one game in the standings.
In other words, Bennett’s Thunder will participate in the postseason, regardless.
Still, a champion for the smaller market franchises, he further bolstered his reputation as such.
“The message was something bigger, reminding people that some teams can’t just reopen the doors in nine or 10 months and so easily sell tickets or a sponsorship without having played basketball for that long,” one high-level Eastern Conference official on the call told ESPN.
As the report eloquently laid out, there are still many details that need to be worked out before the league approves its return to play. Seedings, glory and millions of dollars are at stake, so expect the lobbying to continue between now and Thursday’s vote.