UPDATED 6/14, 7:30 p.m. ET: According to ESPN reporter Dave McMenamin, Dwight Howard has not yet made a decision about whether he would play or not if/when the league does come back, despite voicing his concern about the league returning. This news came courtesy of his agent:
McMenamin also cited some of Howard's Lakers teammates (who were not named) as being optimistic about the prospect of reaching a consensus before training camp kicks off in late June:
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Dwight Howard believes that now isn’t the time to restart the NBA season in Orlando, citing the current social climate as a reason that the players shouldn’t return.
Howard joined the 80-player call Friday night, helmed by Kyrie Irving, where they discussed whether the season should resume. Howard’s agent issued a statement to CNN about the matter.
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Irving, Howard, and CJ McCollum have been vocally against restarting games amid nationwide protests. Clippers’ Lou Williams has also shared similar worries.
However, LeBron James has been spearheading the effort to restart the season and thinks players can both deal with social justice issues and basketball. Austin Rivers has also agreed with LeBron.
According to Yahoo Sports, rejoining the season is a personal decision for every player. If a player doesn’t go to Orlando, then he won’t be penalized—but he also won’t be paid. Thus, money will become an important factor in many players’ decisions to return. Additionally, players who don’t resume the season would mean that the current CBA would have to be renegotiated, which would lead to players receiving a smaller share of league revenue moving forward.
