According to NBA breaking news, the NBA has decided to make significant changes to the NBA Draft. They will have a major effect on young players moving forward.
On the NBA’s latest news, some documents were obtained by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, and there will be significant changes to the draft process.
Perhaps the most notable is that players will have to participate in the NBA draft combine.
Should they choose to skip it, they will not be eligible to be drafted until the “first subsequent draft for which the player attends and fully participates.”
Essentially, players will not be able to play in the NBA until they have participated.
— BetUS NBA 🏀 (@BetUS_NBA) April 19, 2023
The players will not have to compete in 5-on-5 scrimmaging, which is something that first-round prospects often skip even if they do attend, per Givnoy.
However, they will be subject to medical examinations, sharing of medical history, and biomechanical and functional movement testing, as well as:
- strength and agility testing
- shooting drills
- performance testing
- anthropometric measurements
The players will also have to meet with teams, speak to the media and “other assessments, as determined by the NBA in consultation with the NBPA.”
This new rule will not be taken into effect until 2024 so this year’s class has nothing to worry about but future classes will have to be mindful of this.
Big changes are coming to the NBA draft combine process 👀
More: https://t.co/ke3ooMD3Cw pic.twitter.com/PZ6JqkPOP3
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 19, 2023
Another one of the big changes in the CBA is that they are getting rid of automatic eligibility for high school or collegiate players who sign professional contracts with leagues such as:
- G League Ignite
- Overtime Elite (OTE)
- Australian NBL
Trey Parker just showing out at the OTE Combine 🤧 @OvertimeElite @GMC pic.twitter.com/4pSyL2RlDv
— Overtime (@overtime) April 10, 2023
Why Do These Changes Matter?
Over the years, the players have wrestled away a lot of control from NBA owners.
This move gives the owners some power back. In the past, agents have been able to obscure medical records from teams they didn’t want their clients to get drafted by.
The NBA has made it a requirement for all players invited to the NBA Draft Combine to participate in events beginning in 2024. 😯 https://t.co/ijMQk0Y5ro pic.twitter.com/GZ1HBuagjB
— theScore (@theScore) April 18, 2023
Now if a player wants to play in the NBA, they will have to be an open book to all teams.
According to Givony, this is something NBA teams have been fighting to happen for years. This could mean NBA news and rumors coming in the near future.
The NFL scouting combine has turned into a major media event. A big reason for that is that many of the top players show up and participate in drills.
Now that the NBA is forcing players who want to play in the league to attend, there should be much more interest in the NBA draft combine.
Imagine if Victor Wembanyama had to participate this year. It would be a huge media event for the league.
While they won’t be able to force Wembanyama to do anything, the next generational prospect won’t be lucky.
How Might Players React to This?
There’s no doubt players and agents likely won’t be thrilled with this news.
However, the NBAPA agreed to these terms so there’s nothing the young players can do for now.
A problem facing the young players is that veteran players are the ones making the major NBAPA decisions and they don’t have to worry about participating in the NBA draft combine.
While young players could be upset by the news, it makes a lot of sense for the league.
There’s no reason to allow players and agents to hide medical records from teams.
Also, making the NBA combine a compelling media event only helps the league gain popularity.
So we should expect that the NBA trade rumors will grow and grow as we get to the 2024 NBA Draft.
The NFL does a great job of staying relevant even when the season is over and the NBA could learn a few things.
This is a good step to make that happen, so remember you can bet on NBA while the season is still going!
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