Player Invitations
The excitement for the 2024 NBA Draft is building, as twelve players have received highly coveted invitations to attend this year's event, earning a seat in the prestigious green room.
The first batch of invitations, dispatched this past Tuesday, includes the following players: Zaccharie Risacher, Alex Sarr, Donovan Clingan, Reed Sheppard, Matas Buzelis, Stephon Castle, Dalton Knecht, Tidjane Salaun, Ron Holland, Cody Williams, Devin Carter, and Ja'Kobe Walter.
In the coming weeks, an additional 11 to 12 invitations are expected to be sent out in waves, adding to the anticipation.
Green Room Details
The green room, a vital part of the NBA Draft experience, serves as a staging area just in front of the draft podium. It is here where players, along with their families and agents, anxiously await the moment when Commissioner Adam Silver announces their selection.
This year, each player will be permitted to invite six individuals to sit at their respective tables - a reduction from the ten allowed last year. Despite this downsizing, receiving an invitation to the green room is generally seen as a positive indicator of a player's draft stock.
However, there have been instances where prospects experienced longer-than-expected waits in the green room and eventually fell to the second round. Notable examples include Bol Bol, Deyonta Davis, Nic Claxton, Maciej Lampe, and Rashard Lewis.
Draft Details
For the first time, the NBA Draft will span across two days. The first round will take place on June 26 at Brooklyn's Barclays Center, while the second round will occur on June 27 in lower Manhattan.
This new format introduces a potential challenge, as there is a heightened risk that some invited players may have to wait an additional day to hear their names called. Therefore, there could be added scrutiny over the final set of green room invitations, aiming to avoid such scenarios.
Last year, the final batch of invitations was not sent out until two days before the draft. Remarkably, all 12 players from the initial batch of invites this year are projected to be lottery picks.
Uninvited Projected Lottery Picks
Among the notable absentees from the initial batch of green room invites are two projected lottery picks: Rob Dillingham from Kentucky and Serbian point guard Nikola Topic.
Dillingham has not yet completed all necessary requirements to be eligible for draft selection, as stipulated by the NBA's collective bargaining agreement. An ankle injury had prevented him from participating in athletic testing and shooting drills at the NBA Draft Combine held in Chicago in mid-May. Furthermore, this injury has hitherto hindered his ability to attend private workouts with NBA teams.
However, Dillingham's ankle has since recovered, and he plans on completing the required assessments at the Lakers' practice facility on Friday, according to his agent Lucas Newton of Klutch Sports.
On the other hand, Nikola Topic's situation appears to be more complicated. At the NBA Draft Combine in Treviso, Italy, last week, Topic was discovered to have a partially torn ACL. This injury inevitably casts uncertainty over his draft stock until team doctors can thoroughly evaluate the injury and determine the optimal course of action for surgery and recovery.
The green room serves as a reassuring beacon for the top prospects, yet it equally holds moments of intense anticipation and occasional disappointment. As we head towards the draft, the narratives surrounding both invited and uninvited prospects will continue to evolve, representing the fluid and often unpredictable nature of the NBA Draft process.
"All 12 players from the initial batch of invites are projected to be lottery picks."
"Dillingham has not completed all the necessary requirements to be eligible for selection in the draft, as stipulated by the NBA's collective bargaining agreement."
"His ankle has recovered, and he plans on completing those requirements at the Lakers' practice facility on Friday, according to his agent Lucas Newton of Klutch Sports."