NBA talks leave Summer League spinning on rim

The NBA’s collective bargaining agreement with the players union expires June 30, but time is running even shorter for the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

The league is scheduled to run from July 8 to 17 at Cox Pavilion and the Thomas & Mack Center, and a decision on holding the event will be made “in the next several days,” NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver said.

“Due to labor uncertainty, we have not yet made a decision on whether to move forward with this year’s NBA Summer League in Las Vegas,” Silver said by email. “By necessity, we will do so in the next several days because of required notification to hotels and the arena and the advanced planning required by our teams.”

Twenty-three teams participated last July and generated a record attendance of 40,799. The same number of teams, including the world champion Dallas Mavericks, tentatively planned to come to Las Vegas next month.

Some teams reportedly already have begun downsizing their staffs in anticipation of a lockout on July 1. The Thomas & Mack has been trying to find alternative bookings to replace dates that would be lost if the Summer League was canceled.

“It would be a substantial hit to our (financial) first quarter,” said Daren Libonati, who books events for the Thomas & Mack. “We’re talking several hundred thousands of dollars in revenue for the university, and it’s going to be very difficult to make up that revenue.”

Libonati said the Thomas & Mack and Cox Pavilion likely would remain dormant should the Summer League cancel.

“I don’t see how you can fill those dates this late,” he said. “What I’m hoping is there’ll be some sort of modified Summer League late in July or in August. That would be better than nothing.”

Warren LeGarie, who founded the Summer League in 2004 and oversees its operation for the NBA, said he is waiting on the final word from the league.

“We have other dates reserved to have a Summer League in the event there’s an agreement after July 1,” LeGarie said. “My hope is that one way or another, we’ll find a way to play this summer in Las Vegas.”

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter @stevecarprj.