How do the new NBA dates affect Georgia Basketball prospects
The NBA took its' next step towards starting back by finalizing a date to return to play. Per Adrian Wojnarowski, the 2019-2020 season will resume on July 31st in Orlando, Florida, and a champion will be crowned in the first week of October.
As expected, this pushes back the date for the NBA Draft, which was originally scheduled for June. Now, the draft lottery is set for August 25th, and the 2020 NBA Draft will be held on October 15th.
So what effect, if any, does this news have on former Georgia Bulldogs like Anthony Edwards and Rayshaun Hammonds?
For Edwards, this just means that his chances of falling to a team like the Warriors, Timberwolves, Cavaliers, or Hawks have significantly increased. The NBA season will resume with just 22 teams, meaning the latter 8 teams have already played their last game for the season. Barring anything unusual in the lottery, any order of those teams listed earlier will likely make up the Top-3 picks of the draft, which is where Edwards is projected to be picked.
As for Rayshaun Hammonds, this is great news. Like many other prospects who have uncertainty around their draft stock, Hammonds will have four more months to boost his draft stock.
Not only that, but Hammonds will also likely get a chance to perform in the NBA combine, although a date for that has not been posted. If Hammonds can prove his value as a sizable scorer from all three levels, I like his chances of getting drafted.
There also has not been a date announced for a "summer" league ahead of the 2020 season. If there is one, you can't count out guys like Tyree Crump, Jordan Harris, and Donnell Gresham Jr. from finding summer league deals.
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