The Chinese Basketball Association has once again delayed the restart of their regular season after inviting multiple international players to return to China in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst. This brings an ominous sign for the NBA, as it hopes to resume the 2019-20 season no matter what.

The league hoped to restart on April 15, roughly 11 weeks since its initial hiatus, but now won't attempt to resume the rest of its campaign until May after failing to get government approval, according to reports from China.

China was the third country attempting to restart play after Japan and South Korea tried to do so in hopes to carry on with the remainder of their respective regular seasons.

Japan’s B League returned to play this past weekend but has since suspended play yet again. There was a “chaotic weekend of games” after a player and a referee (from different games) came down with a fever during play.

The Korean Basketball League canceled the remainder of the season due to safety concerns stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, according to ESPN's Jonathan Givony. The KBL had suspended its season since Feb. 29, but wound up choosing to cancel instead of restarting play during a weekend meeting.

Considering China, Japan, and Korea had already managed to “flatten the curve” with the COVID-19 outbreak, the NBA is actively looking at other leagues around the world to get a feel for a potential return to action.

Commissioner Adam Silver has the pressure of 30 owners wondering how long they will be without basketball, but he is unable to give a set timeline due to the fluid nature of this global pandemic.

If these Asian nations are any indication, a two-to-three-month layoff wouldn't be out of the question for the NBA, considering the risks at hand.