According to ESPN reporters Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe, teams around the NBA are expecting June 1 to be the date the league calls back players who’ve left their home markets since the season abruptly shutdown in March. Teams also expect that same day to represent a point in which they can ratchet up the intensity for workouts for players who are already at team facilities.

While these presumed developments don’t appear to lend themselves to an exact date on which you can expect regular season games to start again, it would be a publicly visible sign that actual actions are being taken for the league to return in the relatively near future.

As Wojnarowski put it:

“Reporting with @ZachLowe_NBA: NBA teams are expecting the league office will issue guidelines around June 1 that will allow franchises to start recalling players who’ve left their markets to return as a first step toward a formal ramp-up for the season’s resumption.”

“Teams also expect that around June 1 they’ll be allowed to expand workouts that are already underway with in-market players, sources tell @ZachLowe_NBA and me.”

Furthermore, The Athletic’s Sam Amick and Shams Charania have reported that Disney World in Orlando, Florida, is being heavily considered as a “frontrunner” site for games if/when the season returns. Also up for consideration, at least when it comes to proposed cities for a return, is Las Vegas:

“The NBA has Orlando/Disney World as a clear frontrunner for return-to-play site for resuming 2019-20 season, sources tell me and @sam_amick. Orlando has gained significant seriousness among other cites such as Las Vegas.”

For now it appears the league is aiming for a mid-July restart (probably what you were looking for):

“Developing – Orlando’s Walt Disney World Resort is on track to win the bid to become the NBA’s playing site to resume the 2019-20 season, with hope emerging of games tipping off by mid-July.”

 

—COMPLEX