Steve Kerr open to NBA pushing back start of next season
If the NBA is eventually able to resume play in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the league will then have to decide if it makes sense to push back the start of the 2020-21 season to give players and teams enough time off to prepare. Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr says he would have no problem with the league doing that.
In an appearance on ESPN’s “The Jump” Tuesday, Kerr said he is hopeful the current NBA season can be completed even though his Warriors have the best chance at landing the top overall pick in the upcoming draft.
“I would really love to see some conclusion to this season if it’s possible and if people’s health isn’t compromised,” Kerr said. “Obviously that’s the main thing — can we find a way to do it where nobody’s at risk and we can have some competition that will allow the teams that are clearly the best teams in the league to compete against each other? I know it’s not the same thing, but if that’s the best we can do it would be great to be able to do that.”
Kerr added that he sees no issue with the start of next season being pushed back in order to play out the current year.
“If it were to push next season’s start time back a little bit, no problem,” the coach said. “We can do that. It’s not my department, but the league has talked about doing that anyway. With what’s going on in the country right now, I think we have to be flexible.”
The NBA season typically begins in October, so you can see how that would be an issue if the 2019-20 season resumes. Between the remaining regular-season games and the postseason, this year’s schedule would undoubtedly spill well into the summer.
If the NBA does push the start of the 2020-21 season back, there would have to be a discussion about permanently altering the schedule. Teams already want the draft to be pushed back more than a month, and some other big changes could be needed if the season does resume.
