Typically, the NBA Draft has been held on one day. That won’t be the case once the summer comes calling this year.
The Association announced plans to make it a two-day event. It’s a way for Commissioner Adam Silver and Co. to take advantage of the increased popularity in the brand.
It could also have a wide-ranging impact on how busy teams are on the trade front once the draft kicks off June 26 from Brooklyn. It appears that NBA executives see a more robust trade market for draft picks later in the first round due to the change.
“The increased pressure we face to trade picks from the end of the lottery through pick 60 requires more time to process in the moment,” a Western Conference executive told ESPN’s Jeremy Woo. “Two days allows for the possibility of a longer transaction cycle around the draft and celebrates a signature moment in the league’s calendar.”
This could very well be magnified with the lack of top-end prospects in the 2024 NBA Draft. It is not seen as especially deep compared to recent iterations.
Related: Updated 2024 NBA mock draft
NBA Draft trades could now start to be the name of the game
Teams will now have more time to discuss trades in between the first and second round of the annual event. Like we see with the NFL Draft, this could very well lead to an increase of veterans being dealt for early second-round picks.
The draft itself tends to see picks exchange hands more than anything else. That is unlikely to be the case in June.
As for the 2024 iteration, foreign-born players such as Alexandre Sarr, Zaccharie Risacher and Nikola Topić are seen as some of the top prospects this time around.