Report: NBA Teams Allowed to Hold In-Person Draft Interviews Starting Oct. 16

Now that the Los Angeles Lakers are champions, the NBA's attention naturally turns toward the 2020 draft.

With the Nov. 18 date approaching, teams will reportedly be allowed to conduct in-person meetings with prospects to hold workouts and medical evaluations starting on Oct. 16. Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported the news, noting teams will be given two visits per player but cannot have more than 10 total among all prospects.

What's more, the three team executives allowed at the visit, the prospect and up to three individuals the prospect brings must all test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of the visit.

The draft, like the 2019-20 season, was pushed back because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which means these in-person meetings could be even more important for teams than they usually are as they evaluate prospects.

After all, the top college players have not played a competitive game since early March because the NCAA tournament was canceled. What's more, James Wiseman ended his season at Memphis on Nov. 12, while LaMelo Ball suffered a foot injury that ended his season early in Australia.

The Minnesota Timberwolves, Golden State Warriors and Charlotte Hornets have the top three picks in that respective order.

Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman projected Minnesota to select Ball at No. 1 and Charlotte to select Wiseman at No. 3 in his most recent mock draft. However, he projected a trade with the Warriors at the No. 2 spot that ended up with the Indiana Pacers selecting Georgia's Anthony Edwards.

Golden State selecting so early in the draft adds an element of uncertainty, as the team is still in win-now mode with a core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.

Trading the pick could allow it to add a veteran player as the team chases a championship in 2020-21 instead of a rebuild.