John Calipari: NBA draft date will move

The NBA draft process is uncertain with the league in a coronavirus-forced stoppage.

Kentucky coach John Calipari, via Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog:

“Guys that have a decision to make, whether they want to stay in the draft or not, the NBA is saying, ‘We’re keeping our date the same.’ OK, well what about the Combine? That is going to move, we believe. Well, what about the draft date? That will move,” Calipari said Tuesday on a conference call.

Zagoria:

Several NBA league sources also said they believe the Draft will ultimately be pushed to July or August.

Do Calipari and Zagoria’s sources know something? Or are they just guessing?

So much around the world is getting delayed. It’s easy to predict the NBA draft will follow. This wouldn’t be the first time a college coach’s mere prediction sounds like it might be backed by private information.

But if the NBA is considering postponing the draft, people would have to know so arrangements could be made. It wouldn’t be surprising if word got to Calipari.

The NBA could easily hold its draft while games are suspended. The season is complete enough to determine draft order, perhaps with a revised lottery system. Sports fans are starving for content. People would watch a draft telecast en masse. It’d be a way for the NBA, eager to reenter the market, to generate revenue.

As long as social distancing remains mandated, the draft would have to occur remotely. Drafted players wouldn’t get to shake Adam Silver’s hand (or even fist bump him).

But the draft is an anti-labor mechanism that labor should stop celebrating, anyway.