The NFL has refused to allow teams more time to prepare for its draft amid the coronavirus pandemic, but NBA teams are hoping their league will take a different approach.
Many NBA teams are banding together in an attempt to get the league to push the date of the draft back to Aug. 1 at the earliest, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Jonathan Givony report. The draft is currently scheduled for June 25.
According to the report, multiple high-level team executives have expressed to the league that they believe postponing the draft will allow teams more time to adequately prepare. Depending on how the coronavirus situation plays out, it’s possible moving the draft to August or later could give teams the opportunity to meet with prospects in-person for workouts, interviews and medical evaluations.
If the NBA season does resume, the playoffs and NBA Finals could take place during the summer. The Aug. 1 date would be flexible to account for that, with many envisioning a September draft. Team officials are opposed to the draft taking place before the season concludes, as that could eliminate the possibility of draft day trades and alter the process entirely.
The NBA issued a memo to teams on Monday informing them that they are prohibited from conducting in-person meetings with players but can conduct interviews virtually. Those interviews are limited to four total hours per prospect.
It remains unclear if the NBA will be able to resume, but we learned this week that the league does not want reporters saying the season is trending toward being canceled.
