Ian Begley, SNY.tv | Twitter |

A CNBC report on Thursday stated that some agents and team execs are pushing for the NBA to cancel the season. LeBron James forcefully pushed back on that premise later in the day.

Over the past few weeks, there have been various reports stating optimism or pessimism about the NBA resuming the 2019-20 season.

The truth is, no one knows if the league will be able to find the right scenario to finish the regular season or start the 2020 playoffs.

As ESPN reported, NBA commissioner Adam Silver and others involved in the decision-making process are sorting through many different factors, including player safety, finding the right site for games, and the potential public relations hit that would come with making the wrong decision.

As of earlier this week, coaches with one team in playoff contention were still preparing for every scenario -- the resumption of the regular season, going straight to the playoffs, shortened playoff series, etc -- with the idea that nothing had been pulled off the table, per SNY sources.

"They're trying to be ready for anything," one source said.

If the regular season doesn't resume, the Knicks would finish with the sixth-worst record in the NBA. That would give them a 9.0 percent chance of landing the No. 1 pick in the NBA Lottery and a 28 percent chance of a pick in the top three. In that scenario, they could slide back as low as No. 9. There is a minuscule chance (.01 percent) that they fall all the way back to 10. New York would have two first-round picks (No. 27 from the Clippers via the Marcus Morris trade) and an early second-round pick (No. 38, via Charlotte).

The Nets would finish the season in seventh place in the East.

Interim head coach Jacque Vaughn, presumably, would coach the team in the playoffs and have the chance to put forth a case for keeping the job as the full-time coach next season.

For the Knicks, if the regular season doesn't resume, they can start their coaching search in earnest.

KEEPING AN EYE ON OLADIPO

Something worth monitoring once we get to the 2020 offseason: Teams will be keeping an eye on the Pacers again this offseason. Last summer, several teams inquired with the Pacers about Myles Turner trades before and after the NBA Draft and came away with the impression that it would take a significant offer to land him, as SNY reported.

ESPN reported prior to the start of free agency that the Pacers flat-out rejected offers at the draft. The Indianapolis Star reported before the NBA Draft that Turner wouldn't be moved.

This offseason, the intrigue around the Pacers will continue because the team has $58 million in 2021-22 salary committed to Turner, Domantas Sabonis and Malcolm Brogdon.

Opposing teams are keeping an eye on the situation in Indy because the club will likely have to commit significant money to Victor Oladipo in the summer of 2021 if it wants to keep him.

The Pacers will be able to exceed the cap to sign Oladipo. But it would take a significant financial commitment from Indy to keep the foursome of Oladipo, Sabonis, Brogdon and Turner intact.

ESPN reported that the Pacers and Oladipo had talks about an extension before the season but concluded it was best to table the talks.

Per SNY sources, at one point in the extension talk between the club and Oladipo, the idea of a four-year extension for around $80 million was broached. Discussions about an extension didn't progress much from there, sources said.

Oladipo returned to the court in January after missing more than a calendar year with a ruptured quadriceps tendon. It will certainly take him time to return to his pre-injury form. The Pacers were 30-17 prior to Oladipo's return.

If the season resumes, it will give Oladipo more time to return to form and to build chemistry with Brogdon and the Pacers.

You can be sure that several teams will be keeping a close eye on those games.

The Knicks, Nets and plenty of other teams are in position to be aggressive if a player of Oladipo's caliber becomes available via trade.

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