Basketball: NBA players seeking 'certainty' before return

A Spalding ball featuring the NBA logo is seen during a game. PHOTO: AFP

NEW YORK (AFP, REUTERS) - National Basketball Association (NBA) players overwhelmingly want to resume the 2019-20 season but "need some level of certainty" in a comeback plan, players' union executive director Michele Roberts says.

The National Basketball Players Association boss told ESPN in a report on Tuesday (May 26) that most players support the idea of resuming a campaign shut down in March by the coronavirus pandemic.

"It's time," Roberts told ESPN. "It has been 2.5 months of 'What if?' My players need some level of certainty. I think everybody does."

The NBA, whose players are conducting individual workouts at team facilities where allowed, is exploring a plan to resume the season in late July at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, although final details of a plan have yet to be determined.

The league and union have been in talks about a resumption of the NBA season and Roberts says she plans to speak with players on all 30 teams over the next week to inform players about the plans' safety measures to prevent players from becoming infected and what would happen if a player does catch the deadly virus.

"Our guys need to know," Roberts said. "Certainty will be good. But the players really want to play."

NBA team owners plan a conference call this Friday that could reveal more details about Covid-19 safeguards and a full return plan.

Roberts said the union would not necessarily need to vote upon any comeback strategy.

"If we thought we needed a vote, we would," Roberts said.

"But our preferred method is talking to people or just having them talk to us. Then if we get a sense of what the sentiment is, then we can move forward. We talk to our players and figure it out."

Meanwhile, Portland's path to the play-offs will dictate whether All-Star guard Damian Lillard suits up when the Trail Blazers are back on the court.

Lillard told Yahoo Sports he won't play if the Blazers, currently ninth in the Western Conference, don't have a true opportunity to make up the ground necessary to grab the final playoff spot.

"If we come back and they're just like, 'We're adding a few games to finish the regular season', and they're throwing us out there for meaningless games and we don't have a true opportunity to get into the play-offs, I'm going to be with my team because I'm a part of the team. But I'm not going to be participating. I'm telling you that right now. And you can put that (expletive) in there," Lillard told Yahoo Sports on Tuesday.

Portland is 29-37 and 3.5 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the eighth seed in the Western Conference. The No. 8 seed is in line to match up with the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the play-offs.

No decisions have been made on the post-season format and the NBA is reportedly hesitant to require all 30 teams to report to Orlando and Disney World Resorts, especially teams that aren't in position to qualify for the play-offs.

Lillard, who missed the All-Star Game in Chicago with a hamstring injury, prefers the plan executives have discussed for teams on the outside looking in - using a play-in style tournament for teams currently in the 7-12 slots in each conference.

"If we come back and I don't have an opportunity to make the play-offs, I will show up to work, I'll be at practice and I'll be with my team. I'm going to do all that (expletive) and then I'm going to be sitting right on that bench during the games," Lillard told Yahoo Sports.

"If they come back and say it's something like a tournament, play-in style, between the No. 7 and No. 12 seeds, if we're playing for play-off spots, then I think that's perfect."

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