NBA Sets Target Date for Return

Adam Silver and the league office have informed the Board of Governors that July 31 is the target date for the return of the 2019-20 NBA season, according to Shams Charania. 

The NBA suspended its season on March 11 due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Any sport returning is good news for everyone. But this date comes as a surprise. July 31 is still two months away. If that's as soon as it can restart, the NBA should do everything in its power to make August as jam-packed as possible to finish the season by mid-September. Which would mean going directly into the playoffs and trimming the length of the first few rounds.  At least a single hub city, probably Orlando, will allow teams to play more frequently as the league won't have to accommodate for travel.

The NBA will lose viewers the longer the season goes. Football is on Thursdays, Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays. What's more, the upcoming election will pull TV viewers away from everything that isn't political this fall.

A target date is great. The date, however, isn't.