The trade of Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics could cause a delay in the release of the 2007-08 NBA schedule. The schedule is supposed to be released this week, possibly tomorrow — though some outlets are reporting an early August date, meaning any announcement would be made after Wednesday. Thanks to the Garnett trade, the NBA and its television partners may be looking to alter dates to include more Celtics telecasts.
In 2001, the announcement of Michael Jordan‘s return to basketball came after the NBA schedule was released, creating an awkward situation for league partners NBC, TNT and TBS, the three of whom drastically changed their schedules to accommodate Washington Wizards telecasts. In 2004, the release of the NBA schedule was delayed for several weeks thanks to the mid-July trade of Shaquille O’Neal to Miami. While the Garnett trade is not quite to the magnitude of the Shaq trade, the sudden transformation of the Celtics from irrelevant to title contender could account for a significantly increased amount of national television appearances this season. Boston made zero appearances on ESPN, ABC and TNT during the 2006-07 season; the last time the Celtics made an appearance on ABC was in April of 2005.
In other news surrounding the NBA schedule, the Portland Trailblazers are rumored to make at least ten appearances on national TV this season. In 2003-04, the Cleveland Cavaliers, led by #1 pick LeBron James, were scheduled for thirteen national television telecasts.
