Anthony Edwards Jr. And Isaac Okoro Could Benefit From Being Among The First To Begin Uncertain 2020 NBA Draft Process

According to separate announcements on Friday from Georgia wing Anthony Edwards Jr. and Auburn head men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl on behalf of Tigers wing Isaac Okoro, both players, currently slotted in the top five on ESPN’s 2020 NBA Draft big board, will leave college to become pros.

There remains a chance either player could return to school based on new draft eligibility rules enacted by the NBA and NCAA in 2018, which allows players to “test the waters” before deciding on whether to officially become part of the draft pool. But because both Edwards and Okoro are expected to be top prospects in the 2020 class, the belief is they both will not return.

As a result, both players could benefit from acting quickly. Jonathan Givony of ESPN reported “NBA front offices are preparing for the possibility of making decisions about prospects without the usual access to workouts, a combine or pro days.”

After strong seasons as freshman in the SEC, Edwards and Okoro represent relatively well-known commodities during an uncertain time. Edwards scored 19.1 points per game on a 52.0 true shooting percentage, while Okoro was one of the more valuable two-way players in all of college basketball, with a 7.8 Box Plus-Minus, which uses box score numbers to estimate how many points per 100 possessions a player added to their team’s success.

Givony also reported that “according to one team executive, there’s been no guidance so far from the league on what a delayed schedule would mean for the draft, though more information could come after the next meeting of the NBA board of governors.”

This further reinforces the value of a strong performance in-season, potentially causing rawer prospects or players who will require more development in the NBA, to slide. Again, Edwards and Okoro could benefit as a result. Head coaches Tom Crean and Bruce Pearl have been around the advocacy block a time or two during the pre-draft process and will begin speaking with pro teams as much as possible to talk up their players. The agents these players hire (Edwards will reportedly hire Omar Wilkes) can more actively form a bond between them and teams. Even a few days’ advantage could help.

The competitive nature of NBA executives is already leading many to think of ways to secure compromises with players now, rather than waiting until the NBA imagines a new setup for the draft. Givony’s report imagines everything from NBA doctors medically examining an agreed-upon set of players to chartered flights for workouts to digital video conferencing that would replace typical pre-draft interviews between draft-eligible players and team officials.

One NBA team president told Givony, “it wouldn’t surprise me if agents decided to go out and do their own medicals and then dispersed them to the teams of their choosing to try and guide players to specific situations.”

Though Edwards was widely expected to be a one-and-done player at Georgia and Okoro cemented himself as a lottery pick weeks ago, the No. 1 overall pick is far from solidified for 2020. Any bit of leverage or quickness will help these two prospects get in position to be taken higher in the draft, and make more money.