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Report: Teams encouraging NBA to push draft until August or later

Kostas Lymperopoulos / National Basketball Association / Getty

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Many NBA teams are hoping the league office can be persuaded to push the NBA draft until Aug. 1 at the earliest, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Jonathan Givony.

Multiple executives told ESPN that a later draft date could give organizations a better chance to conduct normal elements of the pre-draft process like in-person workouts and interviews, along with medical evaluations.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Monday that the league won't make any decisions about this season until May 1 at the earliest, and that reportedly remains the case.

Front-office executives expect the draft and free agency to occur after the 2019-20 campaign (if it resumes) to allow for trades during draft night. If the league does restart, most currently predict that the season would end sometime around Labor Day, Wojnarowski and Givony report, pushing the draft and free agency into September.

The NBA already sent a memo to teams setting out time limits for virtual interviews with each prospect. Clubs also aren't allowed to ask for video of recent workouts.

Underclassmen can maintain their remaining NCAA eligibility if they withdraw from the draft process by June 3, though that deadline is tied to the draft's originally scheduled date of June 25.

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