The last Los Angeles Lakers news that any fan wants to hear right now is that the 2019-2020 NBA season has been canceled and that the Lakers will not get to finish what they started and compete for championship number 17.
Any other year in recent history and this would not have been as big of a deal for the Los Angeles Lakers, as they have been in the lottery in the last six years. However, after the worst stretch in franchise history, the Lakers are back on top and a canceled season would leave a bitter taste.
There are some reports indicating that there are agents and executives in the league that want the season to be canceled. The face of the NBA, LeBron James, said otherwise.
Lakers News: LeBron James refutes reports about agents and executives wanting to cancel the 2019-2020 NBA season.
LeBron took to Twitter on Thursday to give his say and what he is hearing throughout the league amidst reports that there are certain agents and executives that want to see the season canceled.
Saw some reports about execs and agents wanting to cancel season??? That’s absolutely not true. Nobody I know saying anything like that. As soon as it’s safe we would like to finish our season. I’m ready and our team is ready. Nobody should be canceling anything. 👑
— LeBron James (@KingJames) April 30, 2020
LeBron is responding to a report from CNBC that claimed that team executives are starting to feel pressure and are frustrated with the lack of transparency from the league and are pushing for an outright cancellation so everyone can “focus on next season”.
One of the big hurdles, which is a hurdle of all the sports leagues, is the reduced revenue, even if the league returns. With no live crowds, there is going to be a significant reduction in revenue and if the league returns to action then chances are the cost of resuming would outweigh the revenue, mostly because of player contracts.
So contrary to popular belief, teams might actually save more money by just scratching the season altogether.
Some agents also reportedly side with the owners in wanting Adam Silver to cancel the 2019-2020 season.
Now, it is important to take what LeBron James is saying seriously. He is the face of the NBA and he certainly has more insight and access points to information than the average NBA player. However, even he probably does not know the entire circle.
While I am 100 percent sure that LeBron is not deceiving us and that everyone in his circle wants to return to action, there likely are anonymous executives and agents that simply don’t see the financial gain in risking players’ health to resume the season.
The Los Angeles Lakers, and a handful of other teams, have something to play for. A small market team like the Memphis Grizzlies, who are in the playoffs with no real shot of winning the title, do not have as much to play for.
At the end of the day, the only thing we can really do is wait and see if the league rolls out a plan to return safely, which is largely dictated by things that are out of the NBA’s hand.