When it was first reported the NBA is planning to push its draft back from Oct. 18 to mid-November, part of the reported logic was allowing runway for a more fleshed out predraft process.
The ways the league will use that extra time are now starting to come into focus.
Friday evening, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the league "tentatively expects" to allow teams to conduct in-person interviews with prospects beginning in mid-October — though, crucially, in-person workouts are still prohibited.
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To this point, only Zoom interviews with prospects have been permitted, which Artūras Karnišovas has said the Bulls have taken advantage of.
But other than that and grinding tape, teams haven't had many avenues to truly get to know prospects and their backgrounds off the court. This could change that, as could any further steps towards a virtual combine, which, as of most recent public reporting, is still being discussed.
The Athletic's Shams Charania offered a rough timeline of what a modified combine could look like:
And one thing consistent across reports: Any and all dates for the NBA offseason and 2020-21 calendar are fluid — though the draft is reportedly still tentatively set for Nov. 18.
Meanwhile, the Bulls are set to kick off COVID-19 testing for voluntary group workouts at the Advocate Center on Sept. 14, with workouts beginning Sept. 21. Karnišovas doesn't just have draft prospects to evaluate.