:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/66613967/494751967.jpg.0.jpg)
The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported this evening that the NBA has sent out its guidelines for how teams are to prepare for the 2020 NBA Draft during the coronavirus pandemic:
Until further notice, NBA teams will receive up to four hours per prospect in virtual meeting during predraft, sources said. Teams are prohibited from conducting more than two hours of virtual meetings with a player in a week. https://t.co/bkg56jm6C0
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 6, 2020
The virtual meetings are a huge plus. That’s not a significant drop-off from the in-person interviews teams would conduct in a normal year in terms of what they’ll get out of it. Four hours of virtual meetings is plenty of time to find out what they need to know about a prospect’s personality.
Not being able to see live video of a prospect may harm some teams that haven’t been scouting thoroughly all season long, but prospects are also not in a position right now to practice or work out to their usual extent. I have a feeling Mitch Kupchak and the Hornets will be just fine.
This post will be updated as more information regarding the pre-draft process becomes available.