Dallas Mavericks: NBA approves restart plan: Important dates set

Dallas Mavericks are back: NBA approves restart plan and sets key dates

Dallas Mavericks supporters wondered if the season would resume for months. The NBA suspended play on March 11 because of the novel coronavirus. Nobody knew if it would be safe to play again in 2020. Those doubts can now disappear.

The NBA finalized a plan to return to play that passed a Board of Governors vote on Thursday. Basketball will officially be back. Fans can read more about the format here.

The Dallas Mavericks will be back and in the playoffs this summer. There is no finalized schedule at this point, but the NBA did provide a few important dates on June 4. Let us take a look.

Dallas Mavericks are back: A look at the important dates

Shams Charania outlined the key dates for both the upcoming play in Orlando and the start of the 2020-2021 season.

If that timeline holds, it will be an extremely short turnaround. The league will have to fit in the draft, free agency, training camp, and preseason in a small window. That could mean slow starts for the teams that make a deep playoff run. It will be something to watch early next season.

Adrian Wojnarowski also outlined when the draft and its lottery will take place.

The lottery is set to happen just after the close of the 2019-2020 regular season games in Orlando. It also means the draft will happen just days after the NBA Finals wrap up followed three days later by free agency. The NBA still needs to sort out the salary cap for next season too.

Fans should be excited that basketball will be back. It will be a quick turnaround into the 2020-2021 season. Expect a wild and entertaining few months in the NBA universe. Stay tuned to see how it all shakes out.