By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
The 2019-20 season remaining suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic forces the NBA to push back the 2020 draft originally scheduled to be held on June 25. The decision to postpone the draft from its initial date to August or September will become official in the coming days, according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer.
The league is still planning to conclude the 2019-20 season holding off a potential decision to cancel the remainder of the campaign as long as possible. The draft order itself depends on the final standings and on the draft lottery scheduled for May 19. In addition, teams are unable to host prospects for workouts.
Not all involved parties agree, but the NBA is working on scenarios for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, ESPN reports. The league expects that it will need about 15,000 COVID-19 tests to possibly restart the season.
The Disney World Resort could be an option if enough safety concerns are lifted allowing the NBA to schedule games in a single location towards resuming action. However, having fans in games set in the immediate future seems to have been already ruled out.
There is some support for the 2020-21 season to begin in December and end in July or August, ESPN adds. An adjusted time-frame for the next season will allow the 2019-20 season to be pushed back.
The NBA suspended the 2019-20 season on March 11, in response to the coronavirus pandemic. During the hiatus, young players from all around the world declared for the 2020 draft with the league recently posting the complete list of early entry candidates.