The NBA is reportedly seeking to reopen talks over adding a proposed midseason tournament to the schedule, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Buoyed by the success of the play-in tournament, NBA commissioner Adam Silver is reportedly eager to restart negotiations with teams and the players’ union that were shelved during the pandemic prior to reaching a vote before the board of governors.
The league had previously discussed an eight-team, single-elimination tourney that would have reportedly paid players of the winning team $1 million each while potentially shortening the regular-season schedule by four games.
The NBA was also considering a pool-play element embedded into the regular-season schedule, similar to the European Champions League model, to determine which teams would advance to the tournament.
The NBA needs the approval of the National Basketball Players Association and two-thirds of NBA teams to incorporate a midseason tournament, although the earliest the proposal could be added to the NBA schedule would be for the 2022–23 season.
ESPN also reports that teams had previously expressed concerns over ceding millions in revenue from losing two home games on the schedule, while some executives raised questions that star players may prefer a potential break that would come with failing to qualify for the midseason tournament.
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