Survey Shows GM’s Split On What NBA Return Should Look Like

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – NBA general managers are split on what the NBA’s returns should look like. Both The Ringer and Shams Charania of The Athletic shared the results of the GM’s survey.

Some teams around the league were expecting to have a more concrete plan for the resolution of the season by this weekend. However, a plan is unlikely to be finalized that quickly according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

GM’s Survey

According to the survey, 53 percent of the league favored restarting the season by skipping directly to the postseason. Meanwhile, 27 percent of GM’s in the survey favored an abbreviated regular season with a play-in tournament.

Sources: NBA has sent GMs the results from GM survey:

– 53% of GMs chose advancing directly to playoffs; 27% for resuming abbreviated season with play-in
– 60% voted for 72-game season
– "Playoffs Plus": 83% voted 20 or more teams
– Non-playoff teams split on resuming season

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 29, 2020

If the regular season does return, 60 percent of GM’s in the survey prefer a 72 game season. Every team in the NBA has played between 63 and 67 games. Reaching the 72 game mark could likely be done over two weeks.

A large majority of GM’s favored seeing 20 or more teams in a “Playoffs Plus” scenario. That would feature a traditional playoff system, with a tournament or group play to determine seeding.

Charania tweeted that GM’soutside of the playoffs were split on whether to return. Most regional sports network contracts will play teams 100 percent of their fees when they reach 70 game broadcasts. For non-playoff teams that fall short, that money would have to be repaid.

Sources: On today's call with NBA general managers, Adam Silver revealed the results of the GM survey. 75% of GMs voted for a play-in tournament for the final playoff seeds. 25% voted for a World Cup style group stage.

All the results and more on @ringer: https://t.co/2OgesoIqgy

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) May 29, 2020

Despite the league’s survey, ultimately NBA commissioner Adam Silver and NBA Players Association executive director Michele Roberts will have to agree on what the season’s return will look like. Earlier this week Roberts pushed the league for concrete details on the NBA’s return.

According to Roberts, the majority of the league’s players want to return and are awaiting further instruction.

Finishing the Season

The majority of GM’s surveyed hoped the season would be concluded by October 1. Early projections targeted Labor Day to complete the NBA season. However, the delay to start the season has pushed those dates back.

Finally, the teams are nearly evenly split on how to seed the playoff system. Silver has long been rumored to prefer reseeding the playoff system 1-16. However, 53 percent of GM’s prefer maintaining seeds 1-8  in both the Eastern and Western Conferences. 47 percent of the league’s GM’s in the survey want to see a completely reformated playoff picture.