There can’t be a Draft Lottery if you do not have final NBA regular-season standings to understand who is in it.
The league announced that both events were postponed, as part of the continued shutdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the government guidelines.
The NBA said in a statement that more information on each event will be announced at a later date. It will go on to closely monitor the coronavirus crisis and consult with public health experts, infectious disease specialists, and government officials.
The Draft Lottery was planned for May 19 in Chicago, the same site as the Draft Combine scheduled for May 19-24. In theory, the Draft Lottery could have been remotely conducted, without league executives, representatives of teams and media staff gathering in a hotel ballroom.
However, since the 2019-20 season remains paused, with the ability of resuming regular-season play still among the NBA’s constantly changing models for a resume to action, the actual 14 lottery teams are as uncertain as almost 16 playoff qualifiers.
Mathematically, only the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, Torono Raptors in the Los Angeles Lakers and the Eastern Conference in the Western Conference had clinched last season berths by the time the schedule was postponed March 11. A total of 259 matches were left on the plan, their status and the playoffs on hold.
Suspending the combine, where draft-eligible players become evaluated by the executives and scouts of the NBA’s teams, owes more to the schedule, as well as the social-distancing limitations facing much of the overall. Pushing back the date for the combine, delays the decision-making process for early-entrant players particularly. They face an NCAA deadline to retain eligibility of June 3; the same deadline for international players is June 15.
If the combine is not held, medical information obtained traditionally by teams that there would need to be procured in some other methods.
The 2020 NBA Draft is planned for June 25.