ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski talked with Zubin Mehta on SportCenter on Monday with an update on the state of the NBA calendar. Woj spoke of the possibility that the league could jump straight into the playoffs if it does return at some point. With possibly a best-case scenario being in mid-to-late June, as Woj reported earlier.

Based off his talks with league execs and owners, Woj said the idea of jumping straight into the postseason “is the least desirable of all return strategies” for the league. Although it's “better than the alternative of losing the rest of the season.”

Woj continued: “I think the hope among teams and the league is, that they could play some regular season games, have some tune-up for the postseason. Even if it's just several games—among many reasons—to fulfill some television commitments. But, there is so much uncertainty about the calendar—what might be available to the league. Could they have to balance having regular season games vs. maybe shortened playoff series in the first round? Everything's on the table for the league, and they know there are a lot of hard days and hard times ahead between now and when the NBA could even potentially consider a return.”

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As Mehta pointed out, the NBA has twice crowned a champion in abbreviated seasons (1999, 2012). In those cases, it was due to labor negotiations. You can watch the full spot with Woj here:

https://www.instagram.com/tv/B90CCsYAHQu/

One thing is for certain — the NBA is looking to end the season with games actually being played. If that happens to take place in July or August, then so be it.