Anonymous poll suggests NBA Executives, scouts believe two-day draft format was a success

Anonymous poll suggests NBA Executives, scouts believe two-day draft format was a success

We are over a month removed from the 2024 NBA Draft, which tipped off on June 26.

Though this year’s draft had a caveat relative to previous drafts: It was a two-day event this year, instead of just one. It marked the first time that, under the two-round format, it was split into multiple days.

In a recent anonymous NBA poll, where ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo polled 20 NBA executives and scouts, the feedback on the format was generally positive, with 15 of the 20 voters saying it was a success.

“Having the ability to regroup after the first night and then meet most of the following day created a great process for our group in determining our next moves,” one voter said. “We batted around dozens of trade scenarios, had time to watch a considerable amount of film and conduct additional background calls, map out strategies with agents of two-way and stash candidates we were interested in, and ultimately come to a consensus in our group.

“We executed multiple trades and landed on several players we’re excited to have now on our extended roster. There’s no way we could have accomplished all that in the chaotic fog of a late-night second round with just two minutes between picks.”

The biggest criticism, according to Givony and Woo, was the fact that nearly two dozen players were invited to the Green Room, a special draft room for players and their families/agencies on site.

Only one player (Purdue’s Zach Edey) declined the invite. Though as a result of how the first round shook out, two players–Duke’s Kyle Filipowski, selected No. 32 overall by the Utah Jazz (a slide, in hindsight, that makes more sense), and Kansas’ Johnny Furphy, drafted No. 35 overall by the Indiana Pacers–were in the Green Room heading into Day 2.

One of the biggest advantages for organizations with a second day was having so much more time to step back, reassess everything and then attack Day 2 in whatever manner. Though one of the voters humorously suggested he didn’t like that strictly because it leveled the playing field.

“Some of the people in our front office didn’t like how much this second day helps the disorganized teams who typically wing it and can be taken advantage of from a strategy standpoint,” one of the respondents said. “But the pros far outweigh the cons when it comes to better drafting and decision-making. There were a ton of trades and I think next year you’ll see some real creativity now that we have a better idea for how the evening looks.”

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All in all, I agree with the poll … except for the draft day coverage, which the two sides weren’t subject to. It was multiple hours of mostly Bronny James. I can live without that. Next year will be the real test for draft day coverage, though I don’t expect anyone on television to have many nuanced opinions regarding the majority of second-round prospects because most don’t focus on that segment.

How about having Woo and Givony on there to … you know … educate the fans about them? Or, at the very least, have Jay Bilas or Seth Greenberg–two studious college basketball analysts–on there to talk about each player’s stories? Nothing’s perfect, but that’s a good way to improve it for everyone, right?!?!

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