Stern proclaimed officially Friday there is no longer a chance of squeezing in an 82-game schedule with a Dec. 1 starting date. However, multiple sources predict a 78-game slate will be staged if the sides compromise on the revenue split by next weekend. The final schedule has to be an even number, sources said.
“Anything is possible,” one union source said. “If the handshake is a week later, it’s a week less of games.”
As The Post reported earlier this month, the schedule does not pick up where it leaves off on the original document. Several contingency schedules have been compiled by NBA schedule-maker Matt Winick, pending the season’s starting date. The schedule is made from scratch, pending the availability of arenas. Many dates are the same, but opponents have changed. Any lost games for the Knicks would be West Coast opponents, according to sources.
via 78-game NBA season still possible: sources - NYPOST.com.
This should hold until next week, when it’ll drop by a handful of games again. Then more. Eventually we’ll get to “NBA still considering five game schedule!”
These reports are good, though, because it leads to the idea that the league is still talking about salvaging things after last week’s breakdowns, just as things were salvaged early last week from the setback the week before.
The wait continues.