NBA teams will be allowed to conduct virtual meetings with 2020 draft prospects but they will be prohibited from in-person workouts, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. Teams will also be banned from requesting and watching live video of prospects during the coronavirus pandemic (Twitter links).
Until further notice, teams can conduct up to four hours of virtual meetings per prospect during the predraft process. However, they will be prohibited from meeting for more than two hours a week with any player, Charania adds.
Teams are still restricted from having contact with underclassmen until the early entry list is sent by the NBA, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. The last day for underclassmen to declare is April 26 but the list last year was sent out three days after the deadline, Marks notes.
With practice and training facilities shuttered around the league, front office staff have been holding meetings via video conferences and conference calls. They’ll now be doing the same with potential draft prospects, though it will be more difficult for unheralded players to improve their stock without team workouts.
The draft lottery is still tentatively scheduled for May 19 with the draft itself on June 25. Those dates could obviously change, especially if the league continues to hold out hope of resuming the season.