We do know there will be an NBA Draft in 2020, we just don’t know when.
With the league’s suspension expected to continue into the foreseeable future, the NBA has already officially announced that its draft lottery and draft combine have been postponed. Although it is possible for the league to hold its draft without a combine, the lottery is a necessary precursor to the annual selection event.
For that reason, it was all but certain that the league would postpone its June draft, especially considering the league reopening training facilities on May 8. If NBA player-personnel is allowed to workout in team facilities, there would at least seem to be hope that the league could soon reach a point where they felt they could allow teams to work prospects out or stage a scaled-down version of the combine in a neutral site.
That thought is what began speculation that the draft itself would be moved, and on Monday, Marc Berman of the New York Post reported that the league is looking at potentially holding the 2020 Draft in late August or early September — presumably after the season has been completed (or canceled).
League sources are hearing about a late August/early September draft. Some agents are being told there could be a draft combine on a very small scale in August — with live interviews. That’s music to NBA executives’ ears as they try to decipher an already muddled draft that experts believe doesn’t contain one guaranteed star.
In all likelihood, the league would want to continue to host its draft prior to free agency, so the timeframe would be consistent with other reports that the 2020-21 season could begin in December.
While these timelines are obviously just estimated at this point, they are consistent with the other happenings, including Bucks owner Marc Lasry mentioning July as a possible month when the league could resume play.
To this point, both the WNBA and NFL held their drafts, so there’s no question that the NBA can and will do the same.
As far as when, at least right now, we don’t know.
Fortunately, though, we do have at least some idea now.