Chicago Bulls: 2020 NBA Draft targeting Nov. 18 start date
There will now be a good while until the Chicago Bulls get to take part in the first round of the 2020 NBA Draft, with the fourth overall pick.
Entering the 2020 offseason, in the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic, it looked like the 2020 NBA Draft was going to take place in mid-October. But since then, it has been pushed back due to the timeline of the playoffs transpiring. The NBA Draft now looks to have a start date set around mid-November. The Chicago Bulls will now get a little bit longer to prepare for this to happen.
According to a report from ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski on Sep. 11, the 2020 NBA Draft could now be looking at a Nov. 18 start date. That target start date for the NBA Draft is now just tentative, but is the most concrete start that we’ve had in a while from the league.
The NBA apparently is trying to plan out a “virtual draft setting” similar to how the 2020 NFL Draft and 2020 MLB Draft ran. Each team, including the Bulls, would have their own war room at their own facility.
The NBA is still tenatively targeting a Nov. 18 draft, but that date could still move, sources tell ESPN. Plans continue to center around a virtual draft setting that would allow teams to have "war rooms" at their facilities, sources said.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 11, 2020
This would also mean that the Bulls would see the 2020 NBA Draft Combine transpire in some form in mid-October. That was when the NBA Draft was originally supposed to start. Woj also reported on the new potential start date for the 2020 NBA Draft Combine, looking at mid-October.
The NBA tentatively expects to allow teams to begin conducting in-person interviews with 2020 draft prospects starting in mid-October, sources tell ESPN. For now, there are still no in-person workouts with prospects allowed by teams.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 11, 2020
As of now, there are still no “in-person” interviews allowed for 2020 draft prospects. This would mean that the Bulls have around a month before they could start holding more in-person interviews ahead of the 2020 NBA Draft.
In the 2020 NBA Draft Lottery, the Bulls jumped up three spots to get the fourth overall pick in the first round. They went into draft lottery night with the seventh best odds to get the first overall pick, and caught some luck by jumping into the top four. The Bulls were able to get that stroke of luck along with the Charlotte Hornets, who jumped up to the three spot in the draft lottery.
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The Bulls haven’t played in a game since March, so the offseason has felt like forever now. It will still be a while until the beginning of the draft, but the new look front office regime will get plenty of time to make the right move come draft night.