The NBA Finals didn’t even end three weeks ago, but as soon as the final horn sounded, preparations started for the 2020-2021 season. The Orlando bubble and the extremely late finish to the season meant that the 2021 season would be pushed back as well, but the question was by how much. At this late date, with November nearly here, the NBA start date remains unclear.

The NBA’s proposition seems simple enough: a 72 game season that starts on December 22 and ends sometime in early summer before the Tokyo Olympics in July. This would not only keep the league from conflicting with the media-hogging Olympics, but would allow star players to participate if they so desire. Ending in late June or early July would also allow the NBA to prepare for a return to its normal schedule in the 2021-2022 season. And, of course, the start date would enable the NBA to hold its signature Christmas games, a large source of revenue.

The players, however, led by NBPA executive director Michele Roberts, have pushed back on this. They view the Dec 22 start date as being far too close to the end of the Orlando bubble: the proposed training camp start of December 1 would be less than two months after the Finals wrapped up. Worries abound regarding lack of rest and the potential for injuries as a result. Instead, the players have proposed a start date of January 18, MLK Day, with a season that would be somewhat less than 72 games (66, maybe?).

The league’s argument comes to revenue. Per a recent report from Woj, the NBA projects the delay from a December 22 start to January 18 to cost anywhere from $500M to $1B, which is quite substantial. This is especially true considering that with COVID-19 still raging, it seems very hard to imagine that more than a handful of fans (if that) will be able to attend games for most of the season. Any loss of TV revenue on top of the gate revenue would be tough for the NBA, especially after last season’s revenue dipped substantially as well.

There are clear pros and cons to either side. On one hand, revenue loss on that front is legitimate, and would result in decreased player salaries for years to come. On the other, the NBA will ultimately be fine – it’s a massive institution, and can afford a couple seasons of reduced revenue. Conversely, the NBA can argue that nearly a third of the league hasn’t played since March, and that another 6 teams have been off since mid-August. Even for those teams who had deep playoff runs, the long break from the shutdown in mid-March to the Orlando bubble in late July should have afforded much more rest than usual.

Ultimately, while the players’ fears about starting the season too soon are present, the league’s argument regarding revenue will probably prove decisive. Add that to the fact that half the league (who didn’t play in the playoffs) are presumably very eager to get back out there, and I think the players’ resistance will eventually crumble.

Still, the NBA start date will be something to keep a close eye on in the coming days. If it’s December 22, then training camp and preseason are truly right around the corner. If it’s January, there will be a bit more time to focus on the draft and free agency.

NBA Start Date Unclear Heading Into November
Robert Flom

Check out the LA Clippers News and Updates Podcast, as I discuss the Clippers’ decision to hire Ty Lue as their next head coach, along with Chauncey Billups as associate head coach and Larry Drew as an assistant coach.

LA Clippers News and Updates is a new show on the 213Hoops podcast network, designed to give short, rapid reaction episodes whenever there is breaking news regarding the Clippers. This way, instead of waiting several days for next week’s hour-long discussion of the news, you can get bite-sized breakdowns of the news delivered to your phone as it happens.

The newest episode is out now and will be available here on Apple Podcasts and here on Spotify as soon as those platforms refresh their RSS feed. The episode is live now here, on Spreaker.

In it, I break down the Clippers’ decision to hire Lue, Billups, and Drew, as well as do a bit of examination of each coach’s record and give my assessment of the three hires. Interestingly, it won’t be any of the three’s first stint with LAC–Drew played point guard for the team in the 80s, Billups was briefly a Clipper near the end of his career, and Lue was an assistant coach under Doc Rivers twice, first in 2013-14 and then in 2019-20.

I hope you guys enjoy LA Clippers News and Updates, and give some comments and feedback on the format as I get the show underway this off-season and shape what it is going to look like moving forward. Please subscribe on whatever podcast platform you use, and if you leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts I’ll give you a shoutout on an upcoming episode!

Be sure to also check out the newest The Lob, The Jam, The Podcast to hear Cavaliers podcaster Justin Rowan’s take on Ty Lue’s coaching abilities during his time in Cleveland.

213Hoops is an independently owned and operated L.A. Clippers blog by Clippers fans, for Clippers fans. If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our Patreon. Subscriptions start at $1 a month and support from readers like you goes a long way towards helping us keep 213Hoops sustainable, growing, and thriving.

Podcast: Clippers Hire Lue, Billups, Drew
Lucas Hann

The last Clipper not in the bubble, Montrezl Harrell, lost his grandmother a couple nights ago, and Doc Rivers discussed his potential return to Orlando before the Pelicans game yesterday.

Doc’s response is worth quoting in full, because it’s very powerful and heartfelt:

When he’s ready, he’ll come back. You can’t play if you’re not right mentally and because of the emotional part of it. … His grandmother is very tight with him so all I told him is I love him and take your time. We’ll be ready with open arms when you come.

That’s really the perfect answer. Montrezl is grieving right now, as anyone would be, and his closeness with his grandmother makes it all the more difficult. He needs to spend time with his family (or as much as is possible with the COVID restrictions), grieve in peace, and recover mentally. There is no timeline for Trez to return, nor should there be. However, many athletes, when grieving, like to throw themselves into their work, to take their mind off things (think Isaiah Thomas in the 2017 playoffs after losing his sister). It could be the same for Trez. The bottom line is this: when Montrezl Harrell wants to return to Orlando, he will return, and he will have the full support from the Clippers the whole way.

In the meantime, the Clippers are slowly starting to get healthy. Lou Williams should be ready to play either against the Suns, or certainly against the Mavs. While he will miss his pick and roll partner Trez, Lou will be a much-welcome addition to a bench unit that has had shaky firepower (to be charitable) in the first two seeding games. Whenever Lou comes back, Trez will be the last Clipper not in Orlando and with the team.

Our condolences once again to Montrezl Harrell and his family on the loss of his grandmother.

Doc Discussed Montrezl Harrell’s Return to Orlando
Robert Flom

Well, the news just keeps getting worse for the Clippers. Just now, at the end of his press conference, Doc Rivers said that Lou Williams left Orlando to take care of a personal issue. Lou is the third Clipper to leave Orlando in the past week, joining Patrick Beverley and Montrezl Harrell. While Pat and Trez had explicit family emergencies, Lou’s absence hasn’t even been hinted at. At this point, we just hope that Lou and his family are ok.

With Lou, Pat, and Trez out for personal reasons, Landry Shamet still waiting to test negative from his bout with COVID, and Ivica Zubac somewhere in the ether, the Clippers will be extremely shorthanded for their scrimmage against the Wizards tomorrow. While there doesn’t seem to be an idea that Lou will be out too long, due to the quarantine restrictions, he will probably miss Monday’s scrimmage against the Kings as well.

These scrimmages don’t have any impact on seeding, of course, but they are still an opportunity for the Clippers to get into shape and build up some chemistry before the games start to matter again. With literally half of their rotation gone, this will be very difficult to do. Pat, Trez, and Lou have been able to get some practices in, but this is still far from an ideal scenario.

Now that Lou Williams left Orlando, expect the minutes of Amir Coffey, Rodney McGruder, and Terance Mann to rise. All three played in the Clippers’ first scrimmage, but will presumably receive even bigger roles now. It could be a good opportunity for the young guys to prove they have Doc Rivers’ trust, and for Rodney McGruder to regain some of his pre-Clippers form.

As with Pat and Trez, the most important thing is that Lou and his family are safe and well. Hopefully everything is fine, and this personal absence is not quite as big of an emergency as that of Pat and Trezz. Our thoughts and prayers are with all three players and their families.

LA Clippers News: Lou Williams Left Orlando Bubble
Robert Flom

It’s been a few days since the NBA season was suspended, and the Coronavirus has certainly not let up. In fact, by all reporting and statistical evidence, the virus is just getting started in the United States. Therefore, it’s no surprise that the return of the NBA season remains very much in question.

An hour or so ago, Adrian Wojnarowski, the leading news breaker covering the NBA, tweeted that the best case for the NBA is a return in mid June with no fans, and with the possibility of playing through August.

This is, of course, fairly wild – the earliest potential start of the season is three months away, and that’s a generous best-case scenario. The difficulties with this approach are two-fold. First, months of time off would mean that teams will be rusty and out of game shape, especially considering the social distancing and quarantining going on. Even if play were to resume then, quality would be questionable. Second, if play were to go into August, what about next season? The NBA season usually begins in early October with preseason, and that certainly couldn’t happen with an August finish. Would the 2021 season be pushed back as well? And if so, how would that impact the following season, and so on?

Really, the more one thinks about a mid-June (again, best case!) return, the less plausible it seems, especially if there still wouldn’t be fans at games. It’s still months away, of course, and the tide could turn (in one way or another) against Coronavirus. However, just a few days removed from a projected late April or early May return, the NBA season appears to be in real jeopardy. It’s unclear would the NBA would do if the season was canceled (regarding contracts, salaries, bonuses, records, achievements, awards, etc.) but it has to be something that the NBA is working on at this point.

We will keep you posted here, but it seems more and more likely that the 2020 NBA season is over.

Update on the Coronavirus’ Impact on the 2020 NBA Season
Robert Flom

This is really bad, folks. Paul George was just ruled out of the rest of the Clippers-Celtics game due to a left hamstring strain. Now, in a vacuum that injury wouldn’t be too bad. However, this is the 3rd time George will miss time with a hamstring injury, and as hamstring injuries are notoriously tricky, it seems clear that he’s just not quite fully right.

Of course, if there had to be a time for an injury, right before the All Star Break is the “best” time there is. George will have nine days off until the Clippers next week, plenty of time to get some much-needed rest. However, time is slowly running out. After the All Star Break, there’s only two months to the playoffs, and the team needs to get chemistry and momentum sooner or later. Every game George misses is another crucial opportunity missed to get that little bit better execution that comes with game reps and practice.

More worryingly, of course, is the ever-growing fear that George won’t be healthy much of the rest of the season. Sometimes hamstring injuries can linger until truly extended rest and rehab (which, in this case, would be over the summer), and with so many outbreaks of this injury this season, that might be the case with this one. If George isn’t healthy for the postseason, the Clippers will have a very, very difficult time winning a championship. The Clippers without George are very good, maybe even great. But they aren’t special, and they need to special in a year when there are so many extremely good teams in the NBA.

All we can do now at this point is wait on what the Clippers (and George) have to say, and hope that his injury will heal up completely some time soon.

Clippers Superstar Paul George Ruled Out of Celtics Game with Hamstring Injury
Robert Flom