Euroleague star Luka Doncic, widely considered to be a top-2 player in the upcoming NBA draft, will not work out for teams during the pre-draft process according to his agent. The pre-draft process overlaps with Real Madrid’s season, and Doncic is committed to helping his current team, which is admirable. Doncic’s loyalty could easily end up costing him in the long run, though. Teams will be hesitant to draft a European player first overall, especially if they can’t put him through their own workout routine and examine him up close.
This news is particularly interesting for the Sacramento Kings. Given his roots in the region, it’s assumed Vlade Divac wouldn’t share the same hesitation as many GMs when it comes to drafting a European player. But Vlade has also historically stuck to drafting only players who met with the Kings. Presumably this has more to do with picking players who want to come to Sacramento versus the importance of a face to face workout, so it may not be an issue if Doncic is on the board when the Kings pick.
Overall it’s unlikely that this news impacts the Kings, since Doncic should be off the board well before the seventh or eighth pick where the Kings are most likely to be selecting. With or without workouts, I just can’t imagine Doncic sliding that far. But if the Kings move up to the top three, the lack of workouts could be an interesting wrinkle for teams evaluating Doncic.
