NBA Players Approve December Restart

The NBA’s player representatives have voted to support the notion of starting this coming season on Dec. 22, the date that the league has been targeting in its talks about how and when to get teams back on the floor for a planned 72-game season. The player vote is just one part of the process.    Among the primary matters to be determined: how much more escrow will be taken from players because of the shorter-than-usual season, and how the league and the players will navigate testing and other health and safety issues amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.    All that has to be worked out before the plans for next season truly become official.

Talks between the NBA and NBPA on those and other topics are continuing, though there is obvious urgency to finalize things. The NBA draft is scheduled for Nov. 18 and the plan presented to players _ and now approved by NBPA team reps _ calls for training camps to begin on Dec. 1.