Back in May, the NBA posited a Dec. 1 start date for the 2020-21 season. That would leave an extremely short offseason, but it would get the league back on its normal schedule sooner than later, and presumably wrap up the NBA calendar before the Olympics in the summer.
More recently, the league has floated the idea of a Christmas start date. Christmas always feels like the grand opening of the NBA season, the moment when football cedes control to basketball, whereas October and November are sort of a soft opening. The NBA debuted on Christmas in 2011-12 due to the lockout, and that was met with a great deal of fanfare.