While most events are being performed remotely, the NBA Draft Lottery is a special caseNBAE/GETTY IMAGES
The NBA is "expected to try to hold" a virtual draft lottery due to "social-distancing rules," according to a source cited by Marc Berman of the N.Y. POST. The NBA Draft Lottery currently is set for May 14 in Chicago, and if the league "does not officially eliminate the regular season by that date, the lottery seeds would still go undetermined." ESPN's Fran Fraschilla said that each team "should know by May 1 where it selects, so they can get on with their business." But Fraschilla added, "I'd be down with (no lottery). If the season were to abruptly end, I don't think there's a need for a lottery since it seems to me nobody looked like they were tanking the season anyway. Leave the order as is and go on with the next step on when they can feasibly have an NBA Draft." Berman writes while most events are being performed remotely, the NBA lottery is a "special case and could compromise its stellar integrity compared to past years." There is "nothing specific in the CBA about needing a lottery," but canceling it "would have to be bargained" with the NBPA (N.Y. POST, 4/8).
