OKC Thunder Chris Paul heads players meeting on next steps

OKC Thunder captain and NBPA president Chris Paul is at the head of the players meeting to discuss the next steps in the NBA.

As this post is being written NBA players are meeting in the bubble to discuss the next steps regarding their stance on social injustice and reform. NBPA president and captain of the OKC Thunder is at the center of the storm.

On Wednesday each of the three games scheduled which featured the Milwaukee Bucks and Orlando Magic, the OKC Thunder and Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers all scheduled to play Game 5 of their opening-round series were canceled as the teams chose to boycott in protest of the Jacob Blake shooting in Wisconsin.

Adrian Wojnarowski advised the first speakers at the meeting were Chris Paul, Andre Iguodala (who is the VP of NBPA), Doc Rivers, and Kyle Korver.

The meeting will determine what the teams should do moving forward. Presumably, games will also be canceled tomorrow following the three games that were boycotted in protest of the Jacob Blake shooting in Wisconsin.

Boycotts and protests were already in the mix as the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics met on Tuesday discussing boycotting their second-round series. Between that meeting and the games scheduled for Wednesday, the Bucks made the first move as the team closest to where the Blake shooting occurred. They were the first team to take action and subsequently made a statement on why.

While the league sent out a memo stating the games would be rescheduled there is uncertainty about when games will return to the hardcourt or if the season is now in jeopardy.

Chris Haynes spoke on Inside the NBA and stated his feedback was several players felt they have already compromised a lot to be in the bubble so they want to continue play and using their platform. He also noted, by continuing the players recognize it allows them to earn a salary that can help with their efforts to fund specific programs in their communities to alter systemic racism as well as racial and social injustice.

There is much to be determined from the meetings occurring tonight between the players although the Bucks statement does provide some insights.

Tweets like the following might hint at skepticism regarding the season continuing or perhaps simply imply the players want to just talk alone. That only goes to reinforce we are in unheralded times at the moment and everyone should be taking this as seriously as the players are.

That they are discussing ending the season speaks to that fact because it would inevitably result in the CBA being torn up and lost income. Some on social media asked precisely what owners can do. I think (and this is just supposition) the players are hoping the owners will put their power not just their money behind efforts with government to ensure reforms are put in place and to help push efforts with voting and legal reforms.

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• 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
• Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
• Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder

As per Haynes’ insight above I’m not sure it would behoove the players to cancel the season as it would mean giving up income they can use to help their families and communities but I stand by in support of whatever decision they ultimately make.

In addition to the players meeting the Board of Governors has called for an emergency meeting on Thursday morning. No doubt they’ll address what is discussed by the players this evening and/or respond to either their requests or the potential of the season either being put on hold or canceled.

Although I’m not in these meetings to suppose what their demands or decisions will be there is one certainty. The players have clearly stated they want the officers who murdered Breonna Taylor while she lay sleeping in her bed and now the arrest of the officer who shot Jacob Blake and was on-site during his shooting arrested.

Ultimately this is an unprecedented moment in sports history and the next steps will define how sports and basketball will move forward in the bubble and potentially into the future.