OKC Thunder: 5 Key takeaways from players Q and A with Silver

Players participated in a question-answer session with Adam Silver, Michele Roberts and OKC Thunder guard Chris Paul on Friday.

As president of the NBPA, OKC Thunder guard Chris Paul joined commissioner Adam Silver, and NBPA executive director Michele Roberts in an hour-long call to answer players’ questions on Friday.

The goal was to answer any questions or concerns the players had about the current situation and future direction for the league.

This date coincided with the day some teams re-opened the doors to their arenas or practice facilities. Small groups of no more than four players can be on-site at any given time to get up shots or work out on equipment as long as it doesn’t require any assistance.

The OKC Thunder are yet to open their doors and GM Sam Presti indicated last week they were still at least a few weeks away from doing so.

As for the conference call, insight was provided on several key topics with a couple of topics at the top of players’ minds such as safety and financials.

Key takeaways:

Cut off date to save season:

Silver advised the league is under no pressure to make a determination on a return date in the month of May or early June. This falls in line with previous statements as the league has indicated they will work with the CDC to be in compliance with what would be the safest route for players, team staff, and all those involved in bringing games to air.

Of note, with other sports leagues looking to make an earlier return the NBA will be able to learn from their example. Major League Baseball is expected to propose a June 10th preseason and July 1st season start. If they proceed that will provide some intel for the NBA.

However, since MLB doesn’t have the same physicality it’s more likely Silver will pay closer attention to what teams in Asia are doing. To that end, some Asian teams are back practicing with no restrictions and hope to return in June.