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The NBA has officially postponed the Draft Lottery 2020 and the Draft Combine 2020 indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic, the league announced Friday in a press release.
The Draft Lottery was initially scheduled to take place on May 19 while the Draft Combine was set to run May 21-24 in Chicago but will now be postponed until a later date. The Draft is still scheduled to take place on June 25 but is expected to be postponed, as well.
Teams have called upon the NBA to postpone the draft and other related events due to the outbreak and the news on Friday is the first steps taken by the league to do so. The belief around the NBA is events centered around the draft will be postponed until at least August.
The following has been announced by the NBA: pic.twitter.com/6Vk06UAZsY
— Cody Taylor (@CodyTaylorNBA) May 1, 2020
The NBA pre-draft process has been severely altered this year due to the coronavirus pandemic and it has prevented teams from properly scouting draft-eligible prospects. As a result, teams would like more time to prepare and scout players and have called upon the league to push the event back.
Teams are currently prohibited from working out prospects and viewing live video from prospects and were only recently approved to hold virtual meetings with players. Many around the sport have thought the NBA should consider moving the draft back but no official decision has been made.
While the draft as yet to be officially moved, the existing deadlines for early-entry prospects still remain. The deadline for underclassmen to declare for the draft was April 26 and those prospects have until June 15 to withdraw.
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