The initial report on the NBA resuming with a group stage presented a 20-team scenario. There’d be four groups with five teams each – one from each tier of the current standings:
Tier 1: Bucks, Lakers, Raptors, Clippers
Tier 2: Celtics, Nuggets, Jazz, Heat
Tier 3: Thunder, Rockets, Pacers, 76ers
Tier 4: Mavericks, Grizzlies, Nets, Magic
Tier 5: Trail Blazers, Pelicans, Kings, Spurs
Teams would play each other team in its group, and the top two finishers in each group would advance to an eight-team tournament (effectively the second round of the playoffs, though without conference splits).
But that format could apparently include four more teams.