Commissioner Adam Silver couldn’t have sounded more uncertain about the NBA season’s restart if he tried.
Despite reports of renewed optimism about restarting the season, Silver said Friday night there is too much “uncertainty’’ to even give a date on when a decision can be made.
“The sense of our Board was that the safety, health, and well-being of our players, coaches, fans, everyone involved in our game, is paramount,’’ Silver said following the spring Board of Governors meeting that was held remotely. “Based on the reports we have gotten from various outside officials, current public health officials, we are not in a position to make any decisions, and it’s unclear when we will be.”
Dr. David Ho of Columbia University, one of the nation’s leading disease specialists, delivered a video presentation during the meeting and then took questions from the owners.
“One takeaway was, maybe not surprising, but he reaffirmed that there’s still enormous amounts of this virus yet to be learned,’’ Silver said.
Guest speaker Bob Iger, the former Disney CEO who gave a presentation, told the owners: “It’s about the data, not the date.”
“These are all extraordinarily successful people,’’ Silver said of the NBA owners. “There’s very much a roll-up-your-sleeves, can-do attitude about them. I think there’s frustration over how little control we and they have over the situation. There’s a fair amount of angst.”
Silver said Ho’s presentation “reaffirmed we all have to accept we’re dealing with incomplete facts.”
“This is bigger than our sport,’’ Silver added. “There’s too much uncertainty to say precisely how we move forward. There’s too much unknown to set a timeline.”
That said, the owners still want to believe, according to Silver. The season was suspended on March 11. Sources have told The Post a best-case scenario would be a July startup with a 5-to-7 game regular-season finish followed by a scaled-down 16-team, one-site playoff tournament.
Silver said he’s willing to delay the start of next season and still sees “an opportunity to play regular-season games.’’
“My sense of the NBA team owners is that if they can be part of a movement to restart our economy, that includes the NBA, they almost see that as a civic obligation,’’ Silver said.
Las Vegas appears the favorite to host a playoff tournament. The Post has reported Orlando, Atlantic City and Hawaii also have been talked about internally.
“We’ve listened, but we’re not seriously engaged yet in that type of environment,’’ Silver said.
Asked what sort of data is most crucial, Silver said, “We’re looking for the number of new infections to come down. We’re looking for the availability of testing on a large scale. We’re looking at the path that we’re on for potentially a vaccine. We’re looking at antiviral.’’
If the season is canceled, player salaries automatically are reduced by a set percentage under the “force majeure’’ clause that includes pandemics.
Silver acknowledged the suspension already has had a “huge financial impact” on the NBA because “no revenue’’ is coming in.
The league and union agreed to start a method of reducing player compensation already by deducting 25 percent of player paychecks starting May 15. Players get paid twice a month into late June.