The order of the 2020 NBA Draft’s lottery picks have been officially determined after the lottery was held on Thursday night.
The only thing now is we don’t know when the draft will actually be staged.
The draft is currently scheduled to be held on October 16, but that date is probably going to get changed at this point. The league is considering postponing the draft and the start of free agency, currently set for October 18, according to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
No final decisions on changing the date have been made just yet, but in all likelihood this is going to happen.
ESPN Sources: Among the topics discussed on the NBA’s Board of Governors call with Adam Silver today: Delaying the mid-October NBA draft and start of free agency, and possible timeframes for starting the 2020-2021 season beyond current Dec. 1 date. No decisions yet.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 21, 2020
This thinking falls in line with what Adam Silver told ESPN’s Rachel Nichols last night ahead of the draft lottery.
The NBA was tentatively scheduled to begin the 2020-21 season on December 1, but it’s pretty clear that isn’t going to happen now.
There are a couple of reasons why this is happening. First, they want to play at home arenas again and they want fans back in seats. Silver’s comments reflected that.
Adam Silver tells me what's surprised him in the Bubble, plus that the original plan to start next season Dec 1, is now "feeling a little bit early to me." He said "our No. 1 goal is to get fans back in our arenas" & if that becomes possible, "that's what we would be targeting." pic.twitter.com/9kwWk085uE
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) August 21, 2020
“December 1, now that we’re working through this season, is feeling a little bit early to me. Our number one goal is to get fans back into arenas. My sense is, in working with the Player’s Association, if we could push back even a little longer and increase the likelihood of having fans in arenas that’s what we would be targeting.”
The later they wait, the more we learn about COVID-19 and how to stop the spread. There’s also a possibility of a vaccine along that timeline. So waiting makes sense.
Another reason is that the NBA’s salary cap for next season is in flux right now. The league and the NBAPA both have to agree to a firm salary cap for the 2020-21 season before the draft or free agency happen, according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe.
That hasn’t happened yet and they can’t move forward without that number. The cap is determined by the league’s projected revenues which is derived from revenues from the season prior. That season isn’t over yet, so it’s not possible to come up with a number.
So, yeah, the NBA’s schedule for next season is almost certainly going to be pushed back at this point. Until when? We have no idea.
So it’s best to just enjoy the bubble basketball while we have it now. Because it might not be back for a while.
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