Skip to content
Sixers
Link copied to clipboard

Bucks co-owner expects NBA season to resume in 6-8 weeks, probably in Orlando and Las Vegas

“Maybe have the West on the Vegas side, and the East on the Orlando side," said Milwaukee co-owner Marc Lasry.

Ben Simmons makes a layup in the third quarter of a game past the Milwaukee Bucks' Ersan Ilyasova (7), Pat Connaughton (24) and George Hill (3) at the Wells Fargo Center on Christmas. The NBA is expected to return in campus-like atmospheres in Las Vegas and Disney World, according to Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry.
Ben Simmons makes a layup in the third quarter of a game past the Milwaukee Bucks' Ersan Ilyasova (7), Pat Connaughton (24) and George Hill (3) at the Wells Fargo Center on Christmas. The NBA is expected to return in campus-like atmospheres in Las Vegas and Disney World, according to Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer

First, Las Vegas was believed to the leading candidate to host NBA teams in a campus-like atmosphere. Then, on May 8, commissioner Adam Silver told players it would be one or two locations -- Las Vegas and Orlando -- with no fans.

But The Athletic reported Wednesday that Disney World in Orlando was in serious discussions with the NBA and appeared to be the front-runner to be the sole site to host teams.

Less than 24 hours later, the commentary is back to both Las Vegas and Disney World.

“I think it will literally be one or two sites,” Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry said Thursday on CNBC. "I think just to make it easier for everybody, it will probably be two sites.

“Maybe have the West on the Vegas side, and the East on the Orlando side,” he said, referring to the Western and Eastern Conferences.

» READ MORE: THE 24 HOURS THAT CHANGED SPORTS, AND SOCIETY

Lasry, who is also chairman and CEO of Avenue Capital, said the league was getting closer to resuming play. He expects the league owners to discuss the resumption during their May 29 board of governors meeting.

The league office is expected to issue guidelines to allow teams to start recalling players around June 1, according to ESPN. At that time, teams are expected to receive a timeline for when they can expand individual workouts.

“But I think with players coming back, I think right now the momentum seems to be shifting,” Lasry said. “And we should have something. In the next six to eight weeks we should be playing.”

That supports the expectation that, if the NBA season does resume, it will be in July, with training camp beginning in June.

The league isn’t ruling out resuming with regular-season games. Teams in small markets want to finish the season to secure TV revenue. The threshold to receive TV revenue from regional sports networks is 70 regular-season games. NBA teams have played an averaged of 64.7 games this season.