What does the suspension of the 2019-20 NBA season amid the coronavirus outbreak mean for player salaries and the salary cap?
As ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Sunday, owners and league executives are bracing for a mid-to-late-June return as a best-case scenario. That's important because the 2019-20 salary-cap calendar ends on June 30. Multiple players such as the Los Angeles Lakers' Anthony Davis (who has a June 29 player option to become a free agent this summer) and his teammate Dwight Howard (who has a contract that expires June 30) would be affected by a late lifting of the current moratorium on transactions.
To rectify players' pending free-agent status, sources said the NBA and the players' association are expected to bargain and establish a set of transition rules once games are scheduled to return. These rules will amend all future salary-cap dates.
Here's a breakdown of everything in flux and under discussion.