Report: NBA ‘eager to restart’ discussions with players’ association about midseason tournament

A new report indicates that the NBA is again looking to make a midseason tournament part of the annual league schedule, which would mark a dramatic shift from the traditional scheduling framework

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski indicated that the league needs to come to an agreement with multiple parties in order to make it happen, though the addition of a midseason tournament would not begin until the 2022-23 season at the earliest.

“The NBA is eager to restart the conversation with its teams and the players’ association about adding a midseason tournament to the league’s calendar, sources told ESPN,” wrote Wojnarowski.

 

“Commissioner Adam Silver, a proponent of the idea, has gained optimism that the success of the play-in tournament could drive momentum to reengage teams on another tournament idea that had been discussed before the pandemic, but never reached a vote of the board of governors, sources said.

 

“The NBA has pushed to incorporate more competitive elements to the league’s calendar in recent years, including the play-in tourney, in-game coach’s challenges and All-Star Game changes like the player draft and scoring targets.

 

“The NBA would need an agreement with the National Basketball Players Association and a two-thirds majority of its 30 teams to incorporate an in-season tournament plan. The league could start exploring the idea again with teams and the NBPA as soon as this year, sources said. It is too late for the league to consider the idea for the 2021-22 season.”

The past two seasons have already seen changes in scheduling, largely forced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Both last year and this season, the NBA has teams taking part in a play-in setup.

Ideas about how the proposed midseason tournament would be designed has varied, though financial considerations will undoubtedly be at the heart of any conversations that take place.