In an effort to add some warmth and flavor to the 2018 NBA Draft, the league office has announced its new plans for the upcoming event. According to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports:
As new element to the Draft on Thursday, NBA plans to introduce the 20 green room invites on stage prior to first pick and each will walk across main stage with two family members.
For projected first-rounder Aaron Holiday, brothers Jrue and Justin will walk him into NBA.
As reported by Jonathan Givony and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, below are some of the known invitations:
Arizona's Deandre Ayton, Duke's Marvin Bagley III, Michigan State's Jaren Jackson Jr., Texas' Mo Bamba, Alabama's Collin Sexton, Oklahoma's Trae Young, Duke's Wendell Carter Jr., Missouri's Michael Porter Jr., Villanova's Mikal Bridges, Kentucky's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Michigan State's Miles Bridges, Kentucky's Kevin Knox, Texas A&M's Robert Williams, Miami's Lonnie Walker, Villanova's Donte DiVincenzo, Texas Tech's Zhaire Smith, Boston College's Jerome Robinson, Boise State's Chandler Hutchison and UCLA's Aaron Holiday.
It is noted, however, that non-collegiate first-round prospects will not be invited to the green room.
The news was met by mixed reactions. Some believe that it would be awkward for those who will be selected in the first round. Some half-joked that the NBA wants to prolong the draft for 10 hours. Others believed it is a nice gesture, as long as the league doesn't make the family wait for a long time.
Be as it may, the NBA is definitely trying to mix up things in their annual events. It's a process of trial and error. Some will be met by harsh criticism, some will be welcomed with open arms. The NBA is just taking chances in an effort to serve its players and viewers.
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