NBA says virus hiatus will likely last “at least” a month

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Thursday night that league’s hiatus because of coronavirus pandemic will likely last at least a month, or roughly what would have been remainder of an uninterrupted regular season.

“What we determined today is that this hiatus will be, most likely, at least 30 days,” Silver said on TNT’s “Inside NBA” while making his first public comments since league suspended play Wednesday night after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus, or COVID-19. A second Jazz player, Dovan Mitchell, said Thursday that he has also tested positive.

Silver did t say if league intends for regular season to resume or if NBA, should it return to action, would immediately go into postseason play. It’s also unclear if play will be able to resume with fans in stands, something league’s owners were willing to go without prior to Gobert’s diagsis and escalation of situation. 30-day minimum hiatus would mean games until at least April 10.

Silver said league and players association will have to continue determining “what makes sense here without compromising anyone’s safety and I think it’s frankly too early to tell,” Silver said.

regular season was to go until April 15, with playoffs scheduled to start on April 18 and NBA Finals to begin June 4. NBA’s 30-day plan was decided on same day that Major League Soccer anunced a 30-day shutdown in response to virus, that Major League Baseball said opening day would be delayed at least two weeks and NHL began what it called a “pause” in its season.

“This literally changes hour-by-hour in terms of what we kw,” Silver said.

Silver was also asked if season may be over. “Of course it’s possible,” Silver said. “I just don’t kw more at this point.”

Meanwhile, NBA great and longtime commentator Charles Barkley was t on “Inside NBA” broadcast Tuesday night and revealed that he is self-quarantining for 48 hours because he has t felt well since a recent trip to New York.

Barkley said he has been tested for COVID-19 and has t yet received results. “This thing is so scary,” Barkley said.

For w, NBA players have been told to remain in ir home market through at least Monday — some teams such as Toronto Raptors that are self-quarantining would, in ory, need to remain place for longer — and speak to a team physician or team athletic trainer once daily. Group workouts and practices are t being permitted yet.

In most cases new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.

vast majority of people recover from new virus; in mild cases it can take about two weeks, in more severe cases it can take 3-6 weeks.

re are 259 games left unplayed on this season’s schedule. If regular season is t resumed, that would be second-largest number of games missed in league history.

2011-12 season was shortened by a total of 240 games because of a lockout that wound up trimming 16 games from each team’s schedule. 1998-99 season lost 464 games because of ar lockout where teams wound up playing a 50-game schedule.

Shutting down could cost league hundreds of millions in revenue such as tickets sold, concessions and purchases of souvenirs and merchandise — adding to financial concerns of a year where league lost as much as $400 million, by its own estimate, after a rift last fall that started with a tweet by Houston Rockets general manr Daryl Morey in support of anti-government protesters in Hong Kong.

It also could cost players as well.

What is called a “Force Majeure Event” — legal term for unforeseeable circumstances, such as an epidemic or pandemic — could come into play. Per Collective Bargaining Agreement, players could lose 1.08% of ir annual salary for each game missed.

That means Stephen Curry of Golden State Warriors, league’s highest-paid player this season, could lose about $435,000 for each game that ultimately is t played. A player who had a two-way contract converted to a regular NBA deal for this season would stand to lose about $9,700 per game.

Also Thursday, NBA 2K League anunced that its scheduled March 24 start would be delayed and that its teams would “compete in preseason tournaments remotely” to prepare for season.