Some sources say that NBA is taking the final steps to move the Draft Combine to a different plan that would be conducted regionally throughout September.  The final plans are expected to be completed and shared with teams in the coming week, and this would be the first time that regional trials were held.

The NBA Draft is still scheduled to be held this October, and will be a virtual event, similar to that held for the NFL Draft.  The NBA is still working on choosing the locations and format for the draft, and the Draft Lottery is still set to be held Thursday.

Drastic Times Call For Drastic Measures

This is one of the most wide-open draft events in years, in which prospective players are expected to attend specific regional team facilities around the country.  The plan includes team doctors administering physicals at local hospitals, league officials recording body measurables and engaging players in doing physical tests at team facilities.

The NBA Draft Lottery will take place from Secaucus, New York, and will combine a virtual format similar to the NFL draft.  Team representatives will participate in a large Zoom video conference that will include 14 teams that need the most help in the coming season.  It will establish the selection order from 1 to 14.

To spice things up, sports gambling fans can place bets on who will win the lottery.  This is a way to make the event more dynamic.

Sources indicate that the NBA called off the original pre-draft combine in Chicago that was going to take place in May.  Then, the league reconsidered a virtual plan in a way that would reduce travel and changed the number of players to attend a single location.  The combine facilities are expected to include COVID-19 testing for participants.

Challenges Await The Combine and NBA Draft

It’s possible that the top 2020 draft players don’t agree with the workout sessions shared virtually with the league’s teams, but players will have the opportunity to be assessed in a limited combine workout environment for NBA teams.  Agents are always careful to control what NBA assigned evaluators are able to witness in the pre-draft process and eventually invite NBA officials to pre-draft pro day session, that actually won’t be permitted this year due to the COVID-19 threat.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, some restrictions have been put in place.  Teams are only allowed to have virtual interviews, which usually last 30 minutes each, from the combine sites, and not face-to-face.  Teams often request sessions with players whom they may not be able to convince to attend their cities and facilities to have longer workouts and gatherings.

At this point, it is too soon to confirm if players will be allowed to travel to the cities of teams that would eventually want to consider making them part of the franchise.  At the present time, the NBA has banned in-person gatherings, as well as workouts.  Agents are not allowed to send teams video of player workouts before the league’s original halt of the season on March 11.

Today’s NBA Is A Different Beast

Due to the pandemic, the NBA has gone through lots of challenges this year.  One of them was how to resume the season despite the risks of contagion.  After the season was shut down back in March, the NBA was able to come up with an alternative to the NBA postseason, and the top teams were moved to Disney World in Orlando, Florida to play in the virtual bubble.  The plan brought benefits for the league because no more positive cases of COVID-19 have been reported.

The remaining teams are now in the postseason, and they are competing to see who will become the best team of the 2019-20 season.  The LA Lakers were one of the favorite teams, but if they keep on playing the way they have been so far, they will be out of contention soon.  For the time being, the NBA needs to get prepared for the future challenges and permit up-and-coming stars to have a chance to leave their heritage on the league.