Being an NBA executive isn’t anything easy and that job gives you more pressure when it’s draft season. You have the future of your franchise in your hands and the decision you make could be the best or the worst in the history of the organization.
The 2020 NBA draft already happened but it’s always good to know how some prospects hurt their own chances at being picked as a higher number or to have a better career. The way you think entering the league will impact your position in the draft and the way you’re perceived around the league if you make it.
Michael Scotto of HoopsHype talked with six NBA executives that conducted interviews for several organizations over the years. These execs revealed some of the most astounding responses they received from prospects and some of them are just incredible.
One longtime Eastern Conference executive asked a prospect if he did drugs. When the player surprisingly said he did, the executive asked what his favorite drug was.
“He said he did ecstasy,” the executive recalled. “We asked him where he got the money for the drugs. He said, ‘They paid me to come to this school, so that’s where I got the money.’ Needless to say, he was red-flagged from our list.”
One executive spoke to a draft prospect who got in trouble and was suspended by his school. The executive asked the player what he learned, and the response blew him away.
“He said, ‘People are always watching. I’ve got to be more careful next time.’” an executive told HoopsHype. “The player denied it, was asked about it again and doubled down denying the incident when it was basically public knowledge. I was like what the f—? Most guys own it. That’s the smart thing to do. This guy doubled down on it and was like I’ve got to be a better criminal.”
With all the years of experience they have, they found some crazy takes and predictions from players, but some were just wild. When it came to players comparison, execs were once again mind-blown with the responses they received.
One person even compared himself to none other than Michael Jordan, arguably the greatest basketball player of all time.
One executive asked a player whose role he can fill in the league tomorrow. The prospect mentioned Anthony Davis or Kevin Durant. The executive looked at the prospect like he had two heads and replied, ‘I said tomorrow. Come on.’
Another executive was told by an underclassman, “I don’t really see anybody I play like, but I feel like I’m old school. I think I’m (Michael) Jordan. I think I’m Scottie Pippen.”
As they say, these answers can damage your stock in the draft and put you in a very bad position among executives. Some said that while some players have incredibly high expectations for them, others have studied the game and now that their role in the league won’t be the same they had in college. These were some really interesting questions and the answers really shocked people.
