With the NBA board of governors holding a virtual meeting on Friday to discuss return-to-play options, commissioner Adam Silver reportedly has a return date in mind with a formal announcement potentially coming soon.
Per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, Silver said on the board of governors call that July 31 is a possible target date for the season to resume.
Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, "most" team owners expect Silver's plan to bring the season back will be announced within the next week.
Wojnarowski reported earlier this week that a return-to-play plan was unlikely to be finalized during the board of governors call, as discussions between teams and the National Basketball Players Association about the "three most serious plans" were still ongoing.
Last week, Charania wrote about a detailed survey the NBA handed out to all 30 general managers to get their input about potential return scenarios.
Some options in the survey included moving directly into a standard postseason with the top eight teams in each conference when the season was suspended on March 12; a "playoffs plus" option that would allow as many as 24 teams into a modified postseason; and a "playoffs plus" play-in tournament that includes teams on the bubble for the eighth seed in both conferences.
There was also an option to resume the regular season and play either 72 or 76 games, instead of the traditional 82.
A potential July 31 return date would fall in line with NBA Chief Communications Officer Mike Bass confirming the league was aiming for a late-July restart as part of its negotiations with the Walt Disney Company about using ESPN's Wide World of Sports as a potential host site for games.
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