In it’s efforts to keep teams from contacting players during the lockout, the NBA is finding new levels of absurdity. As our latest example, we present this:
Whatever happens with the next NBA season, there will be a draft at some point. So teams are still going to be scouting college and international players. A large part of what scouts do is watch players in practice — there you can get an idea of their work habits, interactions with teammates and coaches, strengths and weaknesses that may not be seen during games.
But NBA scouts may be banned from college practices for a silly reason, according to the Charlotte Observer.However, I’m told NBA scouts have been barred from attending practices, on the off chance they’d run into current NBA players back at their alma maters.
Essentially, teams have been told they can scout only events open to the general public (as in games, not practices). The scouts I know find practices important in evaluating players’ work habits and how they interact with coaches.
One scout I spoke with said it’s absurd the NBA doesn’t trust its player-personnel folk to practice common sense in these situations. As he put it, “So Mark Cuban can appear on the ESPYs with his players, but I can’t do my job on college campuses?’'We’ve spoken before about the ridiculous levels to which the league has taken the no contact rule — no current NBA players being seen on NBA.com, team radio announcers who have radio shows not being able to players on their shows, coaches needing approval to attend a players wedding and more. This is just the latest example. Scouts aren’t at practices to chat up alumni players, if they report they saw a player what is the big deal?
