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Update: ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the league has sent out a potential date of Nov. 18 for the draft. The decision to delay the draft will allow for a number of benefits, per Wojnarowski:
The league has informed teams of a potential revised 2020 NBA Draft date of November 18, sources tell ESPN. The NBA and NBPA have been negotiating on that new date.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 9, 2020
In a memo to teams today, the NBA explains that pushing the draft date back from October 16 allows for a pre-draft prep and a combine, more time to gather information on the potential start date for next season, and the advancing of talks with the NBPA on CBA matters.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 9, 2020
The original story follows below.
After previously setting the date for the NBA Draft on Oct. 16, the league and NBPA agreed on Tuesday to push back when the marquee event will be held. According to sources cited by Adam Zagoria of The New York Times and Forbes, the draft could take place in mid-to-late November:
The NBA Draft is how expected to take place in mid-to-late November, per several sources. https://t.co/Wthq0hNue2
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) September 9, 2020
The 2020 NBA Draft was originally set for June 25 before the season was suspended in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Ahead of the season restart at Disney World at the end of July, the league set Oct. 16 as the rescheduled date for draft, which has now been pushed back again.
As Shams Charania reported on Tuesday, the start of NBA free agency and the 2020-21 season have also been delayed.
The NBA Finals in Orlando are set to begin on Sept. 30, with the latest possible end date for the 2019-20 season being on Oct. 13.