What's next this season? Everything is on the table

In and around the NBA, there's enthusiasm to pick up a basketball and move toward the conclusion of the 2019-20 season — a conclusion that could settle debates about the Lakers and the Clippers, about LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo, about the long-term feasibility of the Philadelphia 76ers and the promise of the Boston Celtics.

Inside of front offices, there's enthusiasm to find out what's next — to know when the season will restart, how the league will make it work. What about the draft? What about free agency? What about the salary cap?

Players, coaches, front office personnel and employees all want answers. But conversations with people with knowledge of the NBA's plans all point in one direction — no one knows what's next and when "next" will happen.

That ball that everyone wants to pick up? It doesn't even have air in it yet — the country still fighting the COVID-19 pandemic that's shut down all but the most essential businesses. It's why the league remains in a holding pattern — planning for a reboot it knows might not come this year.

It's why specifics are in high demand and short supply.

"I haven't come to a point where I have a point of like no return, or a point where, 'OK, this is the final straw. Tell us something now,' " James said. "We're just taking it day by day, especially here in our household. Obviously, we'd all love to wake up tomorrow and the higher people in charge (are) like, 'we have this thing under control, in two weeks we'll be able to resume our normal lives.' That would be ideal."

But that's not realistic.

In the last week, NBA players received their regular paychecks while their union and the league continued discussions about how to handle the financial repercussions of possibly canceling games. That still hasn't...