Key takeaways from 2019 NBA Draft Combine including OKC Thunder draft promise

A busier than usual business portion of the NBA Draft Combine resulted in the typical shifts and rumors such as the OKC Thunder promise to Matisse Thybulle. T.I. looks at some other key takeaways from the event.

Although the NBA Draft Combine has existed for years since 2013 the NBA has televised the event. For the OKC Thunder and all teams in the Association, the Combine has become a staple of the offseason and served as a highly useful tool for franchises to see many of the top prospects all in one location.

For some prospects, this event serves as a way to increase their profile and stock. Other less fortunate college players experience the opposite effect where poor combine performances can result in them falling down franchise lists.

Certainly, for the casual fan and hoops heads who may not have the time to watch much College ball it’s an excellent showcase which offers insight on players you might not have seen prior.

Factor in how much social media has become part and parcel of the daily NBA and it’s understandable why the Combine’s presence is intrinsically tied to assessing talent. Now we get to see how participants compare, watch interviews and get analysts hot takes in the moment the action occurs.

For franchises, this event also serves as a one-stop shop. More and more each team’s upper management groups are scheduling their meetings at the combine. Strictly from a financial perspective, this makes sense because a lottery team per se could meet with numerous prospects to conduct their interviews and immediately download on how the athletes compare.

Some teams place more emphasis on the interview process than others, based on how high the franchise values character. Typically, this event wouldn’t necessarily be where teams would meet with their priority short list. Rather, it’s an opportunity to see several guys at once or add someone who stood out at the event.

As the Draft Combine wrapped up there were a number of key takeaways. Here’s the ones which resonated with me.