The NBA is inching closer to a return as the proposal for a 22-team return-to-play initiative is only hours from coming to fruition. Now that the plans are so close to materializing, the league has set an August 25 date for the NBA Draft Lottery and plans to hold the NBA Draft on October 15, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

The league is expecting to start training camp on June 30, travel to Orlando on July 7, and return to play on July 31 — three key dates that would ensure players have enough time to get back in shape.

The NBA is also expecting the free agency period to start on Oct. 18, along with a truncated start of training camp on Nov. 10, paving the way for a Dec. 1 start to the season — a timeline that remains fluid, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

All of these timelines will affect how the next season proceeds, but regardless, there are dates that should effect every team.

While the training camp, migration to Walt Disney World, and eventual start to the season would hold major weight for more than two-thirds of the league, those disqualified teams will play close attention to the NBA Draft Lottery, which will decide their future picks.

The NBA Draft will also be pushed back almost four months from its customary date to give enough room for crowning a champion in 2019-20. Teams like the Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, and Detroit Pistons will have roughly four months to look at their prospects and properly evaluate them before making a decision in October.

While these timelines are subject to change, the league has provided an exoskeleton of what the rest of the 2019-20 season and the start of 2020-21 may look like — a great sign of progress after a three-month hiatus.