NBA 'not in a position' to discuss return until May, says Commissioner Adam Silver

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has stayed non-committal about when the league can resume. AFP

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has said there will be no decision on ending the league's coronavirus shutdown until May at the earliest.

Silver, speaking on the NBA's Twitter account as part of the league's new NBATogether initiative, said, "in a perfect world" the league would finish the regular season in some form and move onto the playoffs but that it was too early to make projections.

The NBA was the first major North American professional league to shut down over the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Essentially, what I've told my folks over the last week is that we just should just accept that, at least for the month of April, we won't be in a position to make any decisions," Silver said. "And I don't think that necessarily means on May 1 we will be."

In mid-March, with five weeks remaining in the 82-game schedule, the NBA suspended its season until further notice after a player tested positive for the new coronavirus.

Since then a number of other NBA players have tested positive, including former league MVP Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets.

The playoffs were originally scheduled to begin on April 18 and conclude in June and while Silver said the league had been working towards a variety of scenarios to restart the season there were just so many unknowns at this point.

"When we initially shut down we were calling it a hiatus or a pause, there was a notion of 30 days because there wasn't any of the widespread view at that point that our country would in essence be entirely shut down over the next several weeks," Silver said. "The fact is now sitting here today I know less, in a way, than I did then."

Silver said the league was in "listening mode" and discussed with players and teams scenarios for restarting the season, including playing at practice facilities with no fans or moving games to a single city.

But he added that in recent weeks the NBA had gone from discussing scenarios regarding possible start-up dates to a more dialled-back approach while waiting to see what happens with the fight against the pandemic

"Initially, for the first week, two weeks, we were looking at more specific scenarios," Silver said. "If we start this date, what would it mean for the regular season? When would the playoffs begin? When would they conclude?

"And, again, what I've learned over the last few weeks is that we just have too little information to make those sort of projections."

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The American sports stars donating to fight against coronavirus

Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert, who was the first NBA player to test positive for Covid-19, announced he would be donating $500,000 (Dh1.836 million) to various causes: $200,000 would be provided to game-day staff, while $100,000 will be donated to families impacted by the virus in Utah and Oklahoma City, and the other $100,000 will got to France, Gobert's home country. Reuters

Atlanta Hawks CEO Steve Koonin said two weeks before the NBA went into lockdown that "we have to take care of our part-time employees", although what those measures might be has not been made public. AFP

After Brooklyn Nets player Spencer Dinwiddie tweeted that the organisation has to "take care of the non salary arena staff", team owner Joe Tsai said the Nets were putting a plan in place for the Barclays Center staff. AP

Cleveland Cavaliers player Kevin Love was the first player in the NBA to donate money when he pledged $100,000 to staff at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse - the home of the Cavs. AFP

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was quick to announce that all employees who work events and games at the American Airlines Center would be paid in full during the NBA lockdown. The Mavs also released a statement saying they will reimburse employees for breakfast and lunch bought at Dallas-area restaurants to both ease their financial burden while helping out local businesses. AFP

Detroit Pistons player Blake Griffin said he would be donating $100,000 to the workers and employees who work at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. AFP

Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry and his wife, Ayesha, announced they were partnering with a food bank to provide one million meals to students in Oakland who cannot attend school during the pandemic. The Warriors as a franchise, including owners, players and coaches, will contribute $1m to a relief fund for Chase Center employees. AFP

Houston Astros player George Springer said he would donate $100,000 to employees at Minute Maid Park, where the Astros play their home games. AFP

NBA teams Los Angeles Lakers and LA Clippers and NHL team LA Kings, who share the Staples Center, announced they have created a joint-fund to compensate all the part-time and contract staff that work at the arena for NBA and NHL games. Getty

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo announced he and his family would be donating $100,000 to staff at the Fiserv Forum, tweeting: ""It's bigger than basketball". AFP

Minnesota Timberwolves player Karl-Anthony Towns said he is pledging $100,000 to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota to assist in the testing facilities for the coronavirus. AFP

New Orleans Pelicans rookie star Zion Williamson said he would be covering the wages of all workers at Smoothie King Center for the next 30 days. "This is a small way for me to express my support and appreciation for these wonderful people who have been so great to me and my teammates," Williamson wrote on Instagram. Reuters

Former NBA player Jeremy Lin said he was donating $300,000 in total: $150,000 was provided to Unicef and the same amount to China Foundation. AFP

USA soccer star Kealia Ohai and husband JJ Watt, the NFL player, have donated $350,000 to Houston Food Bank. Getty

Charlotte Hornets issued a statement on Sunday confirming that the franchise would be covering the salaries of all part-time workers at Spectrum Center who were scheduled to work any upcoming games that have since been cancelled. Reuters

Chicago Bulls announced over the weekend that they and NHL team Chicago Blackhawks would pay game-day workers who will miss out due to cancelled NBA and NHL games. AP

Indiana Pacers owner Herb Simon has said he has given financial aid to the part-time workers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse - the Pacers' home arena. Reuters

Memphis Grizzlies said the franchise would be compensating all game-day employees for any games missed through the end of the year. AP

Philadelphia 76ers have said the organisation will cover the wages of hourly and part-time workers at the Wells Fargo Center for cancelled games. AP

Washington Wizards owner Ted Leonsis said that all stadium workers and employees will be paid through March 31 for any Wizards and Washington Capitals games they were scheduled to work. AFP