Union Asking NBA Players if They’d Like to Continue Season

Adrian Wojnarowski:

National Basketball Players Association regional representatives started texting NBA players today with a 'yes or no' question it says will be kept confidential: Do you want to try and play again this season? The union's trying to gauge broader sentiment of its 400-plus players.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 12, 2020

Does this seem somewhat straightforward to you? It’s pretty obvious what the answers are going to be:

• If you play for the Lakers, Clippers, Bucks, or any other team with a chance of winning it all, you’re probably going to respond with ‘yes.’
• If you play for the Knicks, Warriors, or a similar bottom dweller, you’re probably choosing ‘no.’

The interesting thing is how players in the middle will vote. The Trail Blazers, for example, are 3.5 games out. Do you want to come back, play a handful of games, and try to jump the Grizzlies for the eight seed? You’d then have the distinction of playing LeBron or Kawhi in round one, assuming the playoff setup remains intact.

And the Sixers are an interesting case, too. Sure, they’d be tough #6 seed to play against, but they’d also probably benefit from laying low for a little while and letting the disgust with Brett Brown, Al Horford, and their road record subside until next year.

The predicted response would lend itself to just going straight to the playoffs, wouldn’t it? If the NBA’s worst teams are going to present the union with the most ‘no’ votes, then just do a short ramp-up period, play the postseason, and give everybody what they want. LeBron gets a chance to win another title, the Cavaliers enjoy their season coming to a merciful end, and the fans get to watch basketball again.