When the NBA celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2021-22, it might do so by giving its players — and fans — a shorter regular season as part of a restructured calendar. According to an ESPN report Wednesday, the league has begun exploring options that include a possible midseason tournament, a postseason play-in tournament and an abbreviated regular-season schedule. ESPN reported that an advisory committee with about a dozen top team executives from both basketball and business operations took part in a June 17 conference call to discuss with the league office possible alternatives to the traditional NBA schedule for the 2021-22 season. The "wide-ranging brainstorming session" was very exploratory, according to ESPN. Proposed reforms would be adopted as a pilot program. A new midseason cup-style tournament would likely require a shorter regular-season schedule, which could greatly affect team revenue for franchises committed to local broadcast partners that also rely on revenue from game attendance. Discussions included reducing the regular-season games to as few as 58, which would allow each team host each of the 29 other teams, but a smaller reduction is possible. Few officials favor a major reduction in the number of games, according to ESPN. The NBA would need cooperation from several parties, including the players' union, ownership groups, national and local broadcast partners and sponsors, to agree to the changes. While able to make recommendations to the NBA's Board of Governors, the advisory committee has no official governing authority. Gasol takes $25.6 mil option, returns to NBA champ Raptors Spanish center Marc Gasol has exercised his $25.6 million one-season contract option to return to the NBA champion Toronto Raptors next season, the Canadian club announced Wednesday. Gasol, obtained by the Raptors from Memphis at the NBA trade deadline last season, averaged 9.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.1 blocked shots a game during Toronto's playoff run to the NBA crown, the first for any non-US franchise. The 34-year-old seven-footer (2.16m) won a crown in his 11th NBA campaign. The 2013 NBA Defensive Player of the Year is a three-time NBA All-Star and has helped Spain to a basketball World Cup title as well as two Olympic silver medals. Gasol, who averaged 13.6 points and 7.9 rebounds combined for the Raptors and Memphis this season, had until Thursday to accept the deal or he would have become a free agent on Sunday. Raptors teammates Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green are expected to become free agents on Sunday. — Agencies
