The National Basketball Association could reach a decision about resuming its suspended season by next week, Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry told CNBC on Thursday.
The billionaire co-founder of Avenue Capital said on CNBC's "Halftime" that NBA commissioner Adam Silver will present "different options" about reopening at the league's board of governors meeting Friday. He added board members will use the weekend to consider proposals.
Lasry said the board could meet again "early next week" and vote on restarting games.
The NBA announced it was in discussions with its media partner Disney on using the company's Orlando campus to host its games. Lasry reiterated his prediction the NBA could be back in six to eight weeks.
"I think at the end of the day, we'll be in Orlando at Disney," Lasry said. "The question is going to be will we have all 30 teams there or will we have 24; whatever the number will end up being. But hopefully, by the middle of July, we start playing again."
The NBA is contemplating a variety of concepts to restart, including playing on Disney's ESPN complex. The league's statement announcing the discussion said it wants to use the location as a "single site for an NBA campus for games, practices, and housing."
Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo told CNBC he wants to league to reopen "as long as it's safe for me and my family. I think the NBA will do the right thing to prioritize our safety and our health. So, I'm going to leave it to the NBA to make the right decision."
Any plan team owners agree on will need to be presented and approved by the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA).
On a recent appearance on HBO's Real Sports, NBPA executive director Michelle Roberts downgraded her outlook on resuming when asked to rate if players would resume games. Roberts decreased her projection to a "six" from an "eight" out of 10, citing Covid-19.
"I've gotten some recent concerns expressed by players now that babies – children – have been infected," said Roberts on the May 26 episode. "So, heightened concerns have come into the conversation."
The NBA became the first league pro sports league in the U.S. to suspend games on March 11 due to Covid-19. It's projected the NBA could lose over $1 billion if the season is canceled.
