While it seems likely that the June 25 draft will be pushed back, especially if the NBA wants to resume its 2019/20 season following the current hiatus, a team executive tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN that there hasn’t been any guidance so far from the NBA on what the league’s evolving schedule will mean for the draft.
It’s possible more information could come during the league’s next conference call with the Board of Governors, but for now the NBA is more focused on its “core revenue-driving business,” sources tell Givony, making the draft less of a priority.
“The draft is the last thing on their list,” the executive told ESPN. “We saw it in the Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations in 2016. They never even got to (the draft). Revenue drivers will come first, and then we’ll see what happens with the draft after all that gets figured out. It might be a while.”
Although the NBA hasn’t provided any concrete updates on whether scouting events like the draft combine will actually happen or whether the draft itself will be postponed, front office executives, draft prospects, college coaches, and agents are all preparing for a delayed draft and a “heavily reduced” pre-draft process, Givony writes.
[RELATED: Potential No. 1 pick Anthony Edwards declaring for draft]
As we’ve noted in previous stories, a limited ability to travel for workouts and meetings will likely force teams to rely heavily on video scouting, with face-to-face meetings perhaps replaced by video conferences. Although clubs would likely be willing to spend money to charter flights and set up face-to-face meetings or light workouts with prospects they’re targeting, that may not be possible — plus, NBA owners may instruct front office to keep expenses to a minimum, given the current situation, per Givony.
The unusual pre-draft process would have a ripple effect that impacts college programs and NBA teams alike. The NCAA’s deadline for prospects who are “testing the waters” to withdraw from draft consideration (June 3) could be changed if everything else is pushed back, leaving college coaches uncertain about which players are returning to their programs.
Additionally, without medical testing taking place at the combine, it’s unclear how teams will gain access to those records. One NBA team president speculated to Givony that without a clear-cut procedure for how medical tests will happen, it could open the door for agents to steer clients to specific teams.
“If a team wants to keep those medicals out of the hands of 29 other organizations, they might try and lock down that player with a promise that they’ll draft them,” the executive said. “It wouldn’t surprise me if agents decided to go out and do their own medicals, and then dispersed them to the teams of their choosing to try and guide players to specific situations.”
It will be fascinating to see how the process plays out, particularly during a draft year in which there’s already uncertainty surrounding a handful of potential lottery picks. Some NBA executives who spoke to Givony believed that teams might make more informed decisions without all the “distractions” that pre-draft events in May and June bring. Others believe the most well-run organizations will have an advantage as a result of the changes.
“Losing conference tournaments, March Madness, and workouts means that bad teams won’t be able to play catch up after being asleep at the wheel for most of the season, and that’s where having an experienced staff who has been out working all year will play huge dividends,” an assistant GM told ESPN. “If you don’t have accurate measurement data on all the players in the draft at this stage, you’re (probably) not going to get them anymore from individual workouts or the combine.”
