Los Angeles (AFP)

Franchise executives and players' agents urge NBA to cancel season suspended due to coronavirus, CNBC television said Thursday, information firmly denied by Lakers superstar LeBron James "ready to return" .

According to CNBC, these agents and managers say that the owners of the teams are concerned about the liability issues that a resumption of competition would pose in light of the health situation. They are also worried about the lack of income from ticket offices if the television matches were to be played behind closed doors.

The owners of the franchises are therefore in conflict as to whether or not to cancel the current season, adds CNBC, the sources of which spoke on condition of anonymity, because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the affairs of the league.

First to react, James challenged the idea of ​​an outright abandonment of the season, of which he was a contender for the title of champion with the Lakers, until his suspension pronounced by Adam Silver on March 11 after the positive test from French Rudy Gobert.

"I saw that it was reported that leaders and agents want to cancel the season ??? This is absolutely not true," wrote James on his Twitter account.

"There is no one I know who has said anything like that. As soon as it is safe, we would like to end our season. I am ready and our team is ready. No one should cancel anything," a he concluded.

In the ranking frozen since March 11, the Lakers occupy the first place of the Western conference and are part of the four teams already qualified for the play-offs, as well as Milwaukee, Toronto and Boston. Twelve accessits remain to be distributed.

While the NBA has said it is ready to authorize, as early as May 8, the reopening of franchise training centers located in states whose restrictive directives would be relaxed, White House health adviser Anthony Fauci , said Wednesday that all sports could nevertheless "have to cancel their seasons if safety cannot be guaranteed".

For the moment, although it seems difficult to resume the season, the league is still working towards this goal.

"Even if our top priority remains the health and well-being of everyone, we continue to evaluate all the options to finish this season. We owe it to our fans, teams, players, partners and all those who love basketball "A league spokesperson told CNBC.

According to press reports, the NBA intends, among other things, to assemble the teams in Disney World hotels and sports facilities in Orlando, Florida, where professional sport has the status of "essential service", therefore authorized behind closed doors.

The final word will go to the boss of the instance, Adam Silver, who is due to speak in May about the future of the current season.

© 2020 AFP