League-Wide GM Survey Points to Potential NBA Restart Avenues

Clear signs that the NBA is headed toward a return to action continued to surface heading into the weekend. According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the league sent out a survey to executives that asked each organization to weigh in on the NBA’s potential return.

According to the report from The Athletic, executives were asked to select between multiple avenues that would lead to a return to competition. The proposal detailed a month-long ramp up to action that included training camps split between local markets and a centralized location.

Here is the list of options that executives were given to choose from:

Advance directly to playoffs: (16 teams, four rounds, best-of-seven series) with postseason teams based on standings as of March 12

A “Playoffs Plus” option: Expanding the number of teams with the opportunity to play, either through holding a play-in tournament to determine the final seed(s) in playoffs, to be played by “bubble teams” or replacing the first round of the playoffs with a group stage.

If “Playoffs Plus” how many teams should return to play: 18, 20, 22 or 24?

Resume regular season with all 30 teams: All teams plays same number of games.

Resume regular season with all 30 teams, plus play-in: All teams play same number of games, followed by play-in tournament for the final seed(s) and traditional playoffs.

“Playoffs Plus” play-in format options: Play-in tournament featuring bubble teams for 8th seed; play-in tournament for 7th and 8th seed; or group stage that replaces first round of playoffs and all participating in groups (each team plays two games against each group opponent and top two teams from each group advances to traditional second round).

Along with those formats, team’s were asked if the traditional East-West playoff format should remain intact or if the field should be assembled based on record alone. The survey also looked at five potential dates for the conclusion of the season: Sept. 7, Sept. 15, Oct. 1, Oct. 15 or Nov. 1.

You can read the full story from Charania at The Athletic (subscription required).