On May 14, Beijing time, the Chicago joint trial before the NBA draft officially opened, and Chinese rising star Cui Yongxi was not invited. Yesterday, after the news of Choi Yong-hee's missed joint tryout, some media soon said that this meant that Choi Yong-hee would lose his qualification to participate in the draft, that is, he would not be selected by the NBA team in advance. However, this statement is false and a misinterpretation of the new rules of the NBA.
The new NBA rules will not affect Choi
This year's collective bargaining agreement has a new rule: "All invited rookies must participate in a joint tryout or be considered a forfeited draft." "It's such a rule, misunderstood by some media as a prerequisite for participating in the NBA draft, which is to qualify for a joint tryout.
In fact, if you think about it a little, you can see that such a statement does not stand up to scrutiny. The NBA only invites 78 players to joint tryouts, and each year 30 teams have to draft 60 players if they normally qualify for two drafts. It is obviously impossible for 30 teams to pick only 60 of these 78 players.
The G-League elite training camp singled out five players for a joint tryout, and Choi Yong-hee was not among them, but that also meant that he was not an "invited player", so there were no similar restrictions. Even if the probability of being selected is small, Choi Yong-hee can participate in the NBA draft normally.
According to previous reports, Choi Yong-hee has been invited to individual tryouts by some NBA teams, and if Choi Yong-hee conquers the other side in a solo tryout, he may also be selected in the future or get a short-term contract.
Of course, Choi also has another option, which is to withdraw before the draft. Both Zou Yuchen and Guo Haowen withdrew before the start of the NBA draft. If Choi Young-hee withdraws from the draft this year, he will not be eligible to participate in the NBA Summer League as an individual. However, the Chinese men's basketball team has a plan to participate in the NBA Summer League as a whole this summer, so for Xiao Cui, he can still play in the Summer League when he returns to the national team and accept the continued inspection of NBA scouts.
At the moment, Choi Young-hee's name is not listed in the prediction draft on major websites, but his performance in the G-League elite training camp is not bad, especially the aggressive defense has left a deep impression on everyone. I hope that Xiao Cui can get new opportunities and successfully enter the NBA in the future.
Why did the NBA create this new rule?
The NBA rules that invited players must participate in joint tryouts or they cannot participate in the draft, so are there any exceptions? Absolutely. The rule says unless the league allows them not to participate. If the player is absent from the joint tryout without a specific reason, the player will be disqualified from this year's draft.
James' eldest son, Bronny, participated in a joint tryout
What are the specific reasons? The NBA agreement lists these three situations, one is that the player's FIBA season is underway, which is mainly aimed at overseas players, such as their team is still playing, and people really can't leave; Second, the player is injured, and if you are injured, you will not be forced to participate in a joint trial; Third, he is dealing with family matters, which is very reminiscent of the Warriors' Wiggins, who has also been absent for a while due to family matters.
So, why did the NBA make this rule?
In recent years, hot rookies have been less and less involved in joint tryouts, refusing not only to compete in matchups, but also to participate in training, body measurements and media interviews. The lack of popular rookies has undoubtedly affected the attention and commercial value of NBA draft tryouts, which is the main reason why the league decided to introduce new rules.
Top pick Saar takes part in a joint tryout
The rules now require these invited rookies not only to report for duty, but also to attend medical exams, various tests, training, media interviews and evaluations, and even share injury histories. However, players will not be forced to participate in 5v5 matches, and usually only a few first-round candidates will participate.
Previously, it was reported by the media that there were certain restrictions on the sharing of injury history. For example, a player with a top pick only needs to share his injury history with the top 10 draft picks, a player ranked 2-6 with the top 15, a player with a top 25 pick, a player with a top 25 pick, and so on.
This year's draft will be held in two rounds. The first round of the show will be held on June 27, Beijing time, and the selection of the second round will be held on June 28. Will we hear Choi Young-hee's name called at the draft? We'll see.