Report: NBA Draft could be pushed back

The NBA has been suspended for almost three weeks now and there’s talk that the 2020 NBA Draft could be pushed back. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on Sunday night’s SportsCenter that the draft could be held in either August or September. Here’s the quote from Woj:

“Any scenario where the draft happens, it’s very likely going to be still be at the back end of the playoffs, and you would still have a time when you would have the draft and free agency,” Wojnarowski said. “So potentially if the season is resumed at some point and the league is playing in July and August and maybe even into September, it’s possible you don’t have a draft and free agency until those finals are over.”

Hoops reporter Adam Zagoria had a similar report a few weeks ago, so Woj is essentially confirming the news. Zag says the draft could happen in July rather than later in September. July feels a lot like a best-case-scenario type of timeline. We’ll see.

The NBA has said it would like to resume play this season, though things don’t appear to be looking better. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said last week he was taking the under on June 1 for a return to play. That seems very optimistic at this point. Would the draft need to be held after the playoffs? If that’s the case, August or September seem good.