San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
‘The whole world is crazy’
For team’s top pick, rookie year won’t be stuff of dreams
Over the course of the coronavirus pandemic, Vanderbilt guard Aaron Nesmith has discovered something in common with the rest of the workaday world.
Technology can be vexing. “I had never used Zoom before in my life,” the 21-yearold Nesmith said. “Now I use it almost every day.”
For aspiring NBA draft picks like Nesmith, virtual interviews with teams, conducted remotely, have become a necessary component of the strangest pre-draft period in league history.
COVID-19 has changed the way team personnel evaluate prospects in the lead-up to Wednesday’s draft, which twice has been postponed from June.
Even the way the draft will be managed is different.
Instead of walking across a stage in New York to greet commissioner Adam Silver, incoming rookies will be informed of their destinations through Zoom.
It isn’t the optimal situation for anyone involved.
For players who grew up watching the likes of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant and Zion Williamson revel in their respective draft nights, this year’s remote setup stands to be something of a letdown.
“It’s kind of a bummer for us,” said Israeli swingman Deni Avdija, widely regarded as the top international draft prospect. “We want to be there and experience it as players. But what can you do? The whole world is crazy right now, and we need to adjust.”
The adjustments won’t end on draft night.
No matter who the Spurs take at No. 11, that player — like all other 2020 draftees — will
face a lightning-fast turnaround to the start of their rookie seasons.
In a typical year, players drafted in June would play in one or more NBA summer leagues in July. After that, they still would have nearly two months of preparation time before the start of training camp in late September.
With the NBA calendar fasttracked for a Dec. 22 start date, players drafted Wednesday will have less than two weeks before the Dec. 1 start of training camp.
New draftees barely will have time to find directions to their new home practice gym, much less learn a new playbook.
“I think baptism by fire is the best way to go about it,” said Iowa State’s Tyrese Haliburton, considered the top passing point guard in the draft. “Just kind of throwing us in and seeing if you’re ready or not. I think that’s going to make or break some people.”
The loss of summer league — and the tutorial-like practices that come with it — is sure to be felt by all incoming rookies, Spurs general manager Brian Wright said.
“It’s typically their first experience to the NBA game, NBA speed, NBA terminology,” Wright said. “It eases them into it. Now a lot of that is going to have to come on the fly.
“I think there’s going to be a little head-spinning for all of us to orient them.”
Many potential draftees view the month-long sprint toward opening day as simply another obstacle to overcome in a pandemic year full of them.
“The quick turnaround for me isn’t too much of a big deal,” said Nesmith, a 3-point marksman tabbed as a possible lottery pick. “I’m ready to play basketball. I haven’t played since January. My competitiveness is at an all-time high. Even though it’s not the typical draft process for me and the other draftees, I’m having fun.”
The NCAA season shutting down in early March might be viewed as a double-edged sword for potential draft picks and the NBA scouts evaluating them.
With no conference, NCAA or other postseason tournaments last season, NBA decision-makers were robbed of an opportunity to assess prospects in the sport’s ultimate pressure cooker.
The NBA held its annual combine virtually this year, and teams were not allowed to host in-person visits or workouts at their facilities.
“We did get three-fourths of a college season,” Wright said. “Most of these guys we’ve seen for years, even the freshmen. I feel like we’re working with enough of a body of work.”
For players themselves, the added downtime allowed a chance to focus entirely on preparing for the draft.
Haliburton relocated to Las Vegas to work with renowned trainer Joe Abunassar. His workouts there included two-a-days in the weight room, in hopes of adding muscle to his 6-foot-5, 185-pound frame.
Auburn’s Isaac Okoro, a defensive-minded forward who is on the Spurs’ radar at No. 11, said he spent hours refining his jumper.
Dayton power forward Obi Toppin, who won both the Naismith and Wooden Awards as the nation’s top college player, practically lived in a gym in New Jersey frequented by NBA players.
“I feel like I’m much more ready for the NBA now than I was in March,” Toppin said.
Villanova forward Sadiq Bey, another player the Spurs are believed to be considering, called the scrambled predraft process par for the course in 2020.
Even the draft date kept shifting.
“At first it was supposed to be June, then October, then November,” Bey said. “I just tried to keep my head down and keep working. The whole thing is unique, but I have nothing to compare it to. I think everything about 2020 is unique.”
Said Haliburton: “It’s a different time, but none of us guys know any better. We’re just ready for what’s thrown at us.”
Come Wednesday, 60 players will hear their names called across two rounds of the NBA draft, their basketball dreams made true.
For Nesmith and the others likely to find NBA jobs Wednesday, the news won’t be delivered in the manner they always envisioned it.
In true 2020 fashion, Zoom will have to do.
“It’s not the ideal situation for anybody by any means,” Nesmith said. “We’re just trying to make the best out of it, and turn a negative into a positive.”