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Sports leagues around the world were presented with a virtually unprecedented scenario when basically every event on the planet was put on hold as a result of the pandemic earlier this year, which forced them to scramble to figure out a gameplan in an attempt to address the situation.
While the likes of the NFL and MLB decided to take a fairly liberal approach and deal with the various issues they’ve been confronted with as a result, the NBA decided to go basically as far to the other end of the spectrum as possible by constructing a secure bubble at Walt Disney World Resorts (which set it back $180 million when everything was said and done but also allowed it to avoid the upwards of $1.5 billion it would’ve lost out on if it had opted to cancel the season entirely).
The Lakers ultimately secured the title earlier this month to bring the resoundingly successful experiment to an end, but the fact things wrapped up as late as they did presented the NBA with another issue: figuring out when to start the next season. During a normal year, things would’ve already kicked off, and while the teams who weren’t invited to the bubble have gotten plenty of rest since play was suspended back in March, the same can’t be said for those who made deep playoff runs in Orlando.
It appears the league is currently hoping to kick off an abbreviated 72-game schedule around Christmas, meaning the Lakers and the Heat would have around two-and-a-half-months to recover. However, based on what Danny Green had to say during an appearance on The Ringer NBA Show on Monday, a number of players would likely be absent if action does indeed resume toward the end of December—including LeBron James, who he says could sit out for a month to recover.
Lakers guard Danny Green on the proposed Dec. 22 start to next season:
"If we start in December, I think most guys [are like] 'I'm not going to be there… to have that quick of a restart, I wouldn't expect [LeBron] to be there for the 1st month of the season." pic.twitter.com/NYqNxzNEmZ
— Logan Murdock (@loganmmurdock) October 26, 2020
Part of the reason the 35-year-old James has managed to dominate as long as he has is because of how well he’s taken care of his body over the course of his career, and at this point, I’d argue he’s earned the right to do whatever the hell he wants. If he thinks sitting out for a bit is the best move, then I can’t really blame him—but I doubt the same can be set for the talking heads who will pounce at the chance to use this as ammunition against him in the “LeBron vs. Jordan” debates that will undoubtedly dominate the airwaves and headlines for the trillionth time if he does.