Warriors coach Steve Kerr called it “very unlikely” his team would play another regular-season game this season.
Then – amid talk of all 30 teams continuing the regular season – Golden State president Bob Myers assured everyone the Warriors would be “good partners” for the league.
Anthony Slater of The Athletic:The Warriors, planted in stall mode, can finally expect a resolution to the 2020 season in the next few weeks. Either they’ll be told their participation isn’t required for an end-of-season NBA resumption, as they still expect, or the league will ask them to ramp up training and likely enter an Orlando bubble to play a few competitively meaningless regular-season games for financial purposes, which they’re prepared to do.
Replacement summer league, as it’s been described to me, is how the Warriors would view it.
I can’t tell whether this is wishful or informed thinking by the Warriors.
They clearly want to be done. They were the only team officially eliminated from the playoff race before the league-wide shutdown. The main thing left to do is secure the best draft position.
Yet, the league also has local TV revenue at stake. That might not matter much to the Warriors, who already drew massive revenue before the shutdown.
The NBA is reportedly making plans for all 30 teams resuming. Is that an indicator all 30 teams will play or just a contingency? This report suggests the latter – but again, Golden State might just be taking a hopeful approach.