NBA players accept a start on December 22, meaning the Utah Jazz will be on the pitch by December 1

Just a week ago, NBA Players Association Executive Director Michelle Roberts said a December 22 start date for the 2020-21 season “defies common sense.”

Well, apparently common sense is overrated, because on Thursday night, the 30 representatives of the league team unanimously decided to make that December 22 start date a reality.

There are only six and a half weeks left until the next regular season.

And maybe even have fans in the building?

Multiple reports Thursday night confirmed that players have ratified the terms of the league on the details of the upcoming campaign, including a 72-match schedule.

With the deal in place, business will soon be conducted as usual, well, as usual in the landscape of another shaky season (albeit slightly less so).

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Thursday night that the next order is for the two sides to agree on revised financial terms for a revised collective bargaining agreement. Athletic’s Shams Charania added that the salary cap for this season is expected to reach around $ 109 million (mirroring what it was last season), and that the two sides “are discussing a minimum 2% annual salary cap growth. and luxury tax for the duration of [CBA]. “

Charania said other conversations that will take place will include finalizing health and safety protocols and setting exact percentages for players’ salaries to be held as collateral.

Once everything is resolved, the transaction moratorium is expected to be lifted a few days before the NBA draft, which will take place on November 18 (practically this year, from ESPN studios in Bristol, Connecticut). Free will will begin within a few days. And then the training camps will start starting December 1st.

In the meantime, a schedule will need to be worked out quickly and is expected to include baseball-style multi-game road “series” to ease the travel loads.

As for when the games start on December 22nd, it’s possible they won’t even take place in completely empty arenas.

“The NBA aims to have arena suites open to fans with a capacity of between 25 and 50 percent for the 2020-21 season, based on local regulations,” Charania previously reported. “An amount of fans – under protocols like masks, social distancing and coronavirus testing – is a target to start the season.”

Charania added that fans “on the sidelines” could also be a possibility, although they are at least 10-12 feet away from the pitch. The availability of a vaccine could also play a role.

Part of the impetus to strike a deal now was how the timing of not waiting until the new year to start the season was thought to impact the league’s finances going forward.

“The league believes that a December 22 start that includes Christmas Day games on television and allows for a 72-game schedule ending before the Summer Olympics in mid-July is worth between $ 500 million and $ 1 billion soon. and long-term revenues by league and players, “said ESPN sources Zach Lowe and Wojnarowski.