The NBA announced that operations will be suspended for “at least” 30 days in the wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic. But we should realistically prepare for the NBA to be absent longer. In a most-ideal scenario, the league could return without fans in attendance, but there’s reason to suspect even that goal is out of reach.
The primary reason is that the United States lacks tests. Sam Amick wrote for The Athletic about how a critical shortage of testing means that Kings players haven’t even been tested yet.
Consider this as a cautionary tale: In Sacramento, where Wednesday’s game between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Kings was canceled just minutes before tipoff after it was discovered that a game official (Courtney Kirkland) had worked a Jazz game just two nights before, there was an understandable desire to have all of the Kings players tested.