The 2020 NBA Draft could be pushed back into the middle of November.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the league is targeting Nov. 18 as the draft date, more than a month after the originally tentatively-set postponement date of Oct. 16.
Teams had some concerns with the timing of an October draft, which would have been mere days after the expected date that would be Game 7 of the NBA Finals, if it goes to seven games.
Organizations were worried they would not have enough information on future salary caps that may alter their roster plans, according to Wojnarowski. Moving the draft back a month gives the league and union more time to discuss the collective bargaining agreement and upcoming cap and luxury tax thresholds.
It also gives teams more time to prepare for a draft, one in which studying the players will be drastically different from a typical year with changes in travel and limited film due to the canceled NCAA Tournament.
The start of free agency was not mentioned in the report that Wojnarowski obtained, but it is expected to begin shortly after the draft takes place.
The tentative start date of the 2020-21 season is Dec. 1, but it is reasonable to assume that this too will be pushed back to accommodate the flurry of offseason activity that must take place.
