Report: NBA Teams Can Hold Virtual Meetings with Prospects Ahead of 2020 Draft

Much like its NFL counterpart, the NBA will reportedly not be allowed to hold in-person workouts leading up to its 2020 draft on June 25.  

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, the league provided guidelines for its teams regarding pre-draft rules, revealing virtual meetings are allowed in place of in-person meetings amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Charania noted teams cannot hold more than two hours of those virtual meetings with a specific player in a given week and will have as many as four total hours per prospect leading up to the draft.

The report suggests the NBA's eventual offseason may mirror the NFL's.

All public events around the NFL's April 23-25 draft in Las Vegas were canceled, and teams had to adjust to travel restrictions and facility closures when evaluating free agents and potential prospects. While free agency continued, teams were unable to conduct in-person meetings and interviews, which led to a further reliance on game tape and video meetings.

The same can be said about the evaluation of draft prospects.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the NFL's general manager subcommittee wanted to delay the draft largely because they did not feel they had enough time to gather information on the prospects.

From the NBA's perspective, teams at least have this information months before the actual draft, giving them more time to adjust than the NFL front offices received.

While the top of the NFL draft will likely be straightforward with LSU's Joe Burrow and Ohio State's Chase Young expected to come off the board with the first two picks, there is an element of uncertainty with the NBA. That is especially true since the lottery, which determines the order of picks, has not yet taken place.

Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman projected the Golden State Warriors to select Georgia's Anthony Edwards with the No. 1 pick in his most recent mock draft.