Potential first-round pick Jaden Hardy is reportedly among the prospects not expected to scrimmage this week at the NBA draft combine, according to Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report.
The draft combine tipped off on Wednesday and will feature 5-on-5 games, strength and agility testing, shooting drills, measurements and other related on-court exercises. Players each year often skip certain portions of the event in order to better position themselves in the draft.
In total, 83 prospects were invited to compete in the combine.
Typically, when a player elects to skip the scrimmage portion of the combine, it could be that they received a draft promise from a team. However, it is a bit early in the process to have received a promise so those not participating are likely sitting out due to other reasons.
Max Christie, JD Davison and Peyton Watson are also not scrimmaging.
Peyton Watson, Jaden Hardy, JD Davison, Max Christie NOT expected to scrimmage. Had seemingly more to gain than lose here. Maybe promises have been made but highly unlikely this early.
There will be teams are who totally turned off by these decisions to not compete. Always are.
— Jonathan Wasserman (@NBADraftWass) May 18, 2022
In the case of Hardy, he and his camp likely felt as though he showcased everything he needed to throughout the season with the NBA G League Ignite. He had the opportunity to play against strong competition, something that teams value at this stage of the process.
The NBA draft will take place on June 23.
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