During his press conference before the start of The Finals, Adam Silver was asked by Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe about the NBA's hiring practices for coaches of color now that the league is currently down to just four Black coaches. Silver was asked if the NBA should enact a Rooney Rule, or if teams should be able to hire who they want.

"The answer is ultimately yes to should the teams be able to hire who they want," said Silver. "I don’t see a way to operate a league where the league office, the Commissioner is dictating to a team who they should or shouldn’t hire or who she should or shouldn’t fire, frankly. That’s the other side of the coin.

"Having said that, I know we can do better. We have six openings right now. We’re in discussions with all of those teams about making sure there’s a diverse slate of candidates.

"You know, we’ve looked at what might be an equivalent to a Rooney type rule in the NBA, and I’m not sure it makes sense. I’m open-minded if there are other ways to address it.

"There is a certain natural ebb and flow to the hiring and firing, frankly, of coaches, but the number is too low right now. And again, I think we should — let’s talk again after we fill these six positions and see where we are, because I know we can do better, and I think we will do better."

Nate McMillan, Alvin Gentry and Doc Rivers lost their jobs this offseason. Rivers and Ty Lue are considered strong candidates for current vacancies. 

Michele Roberts has spent the entire restart within the bubble and has been directed by her constituents in the NBPA to avoid playing the 20-21 season in that type of environment. 

"Do I want to do it again? Not if I can avoid it," said Roberts. "Those are my marching orders: not if we can avoid it. Now, having said that, the players want to make sure we can save our season again."

The NBA hopes to play most, if not all, of the 20-21 season in arenas and before some number of fans.

A return to a bubble is widely considered a worst-case scenario. 

Ty Lue is in a strong position to become the next head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers but the franchise will conduct a full search, a source told Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Lue was an assistant coach with the Clippers this past season and has many of the qualifications the team is seeking with his championship, multiple Finals appearances and understanding the pressure of coaching superstars.

Lue has also interviewed with the Philadelphia 76ers and is expected to also meet with the New Orleans Pelicans. 

The Cleveland Cavaliers parted ways with Lue at the beginning of the 18-19 season.

The NBA hopes to play the 20-21 season with some level of fans in attendance, but Adam Silver conceded a vaccine is unlikely to be available by the start of the season.

Silver said advancements in rapid testing and safety protocols can allow some fans back into buildings.

"Based on everything I’ve read, there’s almost no chance that there will be a vaccine, at least that is widely distributed, before we start the next season," said Silver. "So I do not see the development of a vaccine as a prerequisite. My sense is that with rapid testing, if you — it may not be that we’ll have 19,000 people in the building, we’ll see, but that with appropriate protocols in terms of distancing and with advanced testing that you will be able to bring fans back into arenas.

"Again, it’s early days. You know, and many of these decisions — to the earlier question about what’s Canada going to do, we also have to deal with state by state and in some cases city by city restrictions on how many people can gather, as well. Again, I’m hopeful that based on what we’re learning, based on protocols, based on testing, we will be able to have games with fans next season prior to full distribution of a vaccine."

The NBA is unlikely to start the season until January at the earliest. 

According to a piece by Zach Harper at The Athletic, it was early in Jimmy Butler's first season with the Minnesota Timberwolves that he realized Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins weren't good fits for him.

“Nobody gives a [expletive] what you did in college once you get to the NBA,” a source close to the Timberwolves told The Athletic. “Karl failed to recognize that everybody is good in college. Look at (Carmelo Anthony). Bro won a (national championship) at Syracuse. He’s scrutinized at the NBA level as some sort of loser by some folks. KAT didn’t even do that at Kentucky.”

Some sources around the team posit the moment being in line with a Dec. 12 game against the Philadelphia 76ers in which Towns was thoroughly outplayed by “rival” big Joel Embiid. 

Butler was entering the final season of his contract and wanted an assurance he would get a max contract in free agency. With that seeming unlikely after the Wolves had already committed approximately $300 million to Towns and Wiggins, he began angling for a trade.

Butler infamously led a third string unit to a victory over the starters. Butler defended Towns and maybe took one shot attempt.

“Jimmy didn’t need to lead by scoring that day,” a team source said about that practice. “He wanted to lead by being the toughest MFer in the room. He put on a show and it was uncomfortable for a lot of people.”

The NBA and NBPA jointly announced that LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers secured the top spots on the NBA’s Most Popular Jersey and Team Merchandise lists during the 2020 NBA Restart. Results are based on NBAStore.com sales from July 30 through Sept. 28.

Luka Doncic ranked No. 2 on the player list, followed by Anthony Davis (No. 3), Jayson Tatum (No. 4) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (No. 5).

On the team merchandise list, the Lakers are followed by the Celtics (No. 2), Chicago Bulls (No. 3), Miami Heat (No. 4) and Golden State Warriors (No. 5).

Top 15 Most Popular NBA Jerseys:                         

1. LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers                         

2. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks                              

3. Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers                       

4. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics                                  

5. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks            

6. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors                    

7. Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets                                  

8. Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers                    

9. Kawhi Leonard, LA Clippers                                  

10. Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat                                    

11. Kemba Walker, Boston Celtics      

12. Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn Nets                      

13. Russell Westbrook, Houston Rockets

14. Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets

15. Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies  

The Toronto Raptors have yet to sign Masai Ujiri to a contract extension, but that is widely expected to be agreed upon in the near future.

Ujiri's current contract expires at the end of the 20-21 season.

“Our fans, they love Masai for all that he’s contributed to the Raptors franchise and to our community and to our country — and our appreciation for him, that can’t be measured,” Larry Tanenbaum, the chairman of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, said in an interview Tuesday. “But it was his and my game plan to secure his management team extension before his own.”

The Raptors have already signed Nick Nurse to an extension and one for Bobby Webster is currently being finalized.

“We have time and we’re going to work through the process in the right time and the right way, I know that for sure,” Tanenbaum said. “He’s so incredibly caring and he’s an important person for the world to understand. It’s not only the Raptors.”

The NBA is estimating a loss of at least $200 million from China for the 19-20 season, sources close to the situation tell ESPN's Kevin Arnovitz. 

CCTV has not aired any NBA games this season following a Tweet from Daryl Morey supporting protesters in Hong Kong. NBA games, however, have been streamed via Tencent with the exception of all games featuring the Houston Rockets.

It remains unclear what the long-terms ramifications will be with the NBA's business interests in China.

The Sacramento Kings have eliminated a number of notable positions due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, sources tell Sean Cunningham of ABC10.

The Kings parted ways with Stockton Kings general manager Anthony McClish. 

McClish joined the Kings in 2013.

The NBA has announced the uniform schedule for The Finals.

Game 1
Lakers: Gold/Icon
Heat: Black/Icon

Game 2
Lakers: Black/Classic
Heat: White/Association

Game 3
Heat: Black/Icon
Lakers: White/Association

Game 4
Heat: Black/Icon
Lakers: Gold/Icon

Game 5
Lakers: Purple/Statement
Heat: White/Association

Game 6
Heat: Black/Icon
Lakers: White/Association

Game 7
Lakers: Black/Classic
Heat: Black/Association