Why do teams make draft promises?

[Ilikesports17]

I may be missing an obvious answer, but I was thinking about the Cameron Payne talk, and I cant figure out why a team would make a draft promise to a player.

Do the players then agree not to work out with other teams?

[Eddie20]

So a player doesn't work out for other teams and it helps the chances they'll be there when they draft, as opposed to rising up draft boards.

[D.o.s.]

So a player doesn't work out for other teams and it helps the chances they'll be there when they draft, as opposed to rising up draft boards.

Exactly. And it's a nice thing to do, in general.

[Tr1boy]

What happens if the team breaks the promise

[hpantazo]

What happens if the team breaks the promise

You don't want to anger agents, otherwise you will never be able to complete good trades or sign good players for a long, long time. NBA player agents have a huge amount of influence these days.

[mahcus smaht]

So I guess the promise is more like an agreement:

"If you dont work out for any other teams, I promise we will take you at 11"

Seems a bit silly for both.

For the player its likely that even if doesnt make this promise the team would take him at 11 and for the team its possible they enter a situation where they could be forced to pass on a stud because they promised.

[saltlover]

Teams will also make promises to international players to keep them in the draft, as they can withdraw very near the draft day (unlike American collegiate players).

[mahcus smaht]

Teams will also make promises to international players to keep them in the draft, as they can withdraw very near the draft day (unlike American collegiate players).

this I did understand, and it made a lot of sense. In fact I always assumed collegiate players were made promises prior to the point of no return if you will.

Then this year I realized that would mean making a promise to a player months before the draft which would make even less sense.

[Eddie20]

So I guess the promise is more like an agreement:

"If you dont work out for any other teams, I promise we will take you at 11"

Seems a bit silly for both.

For the player its likely that even if doesnt make this promise the team would take him at 11 and for the team its possible they enter a situation where they could be forced to pass on a stud because they promised.

Not if a team thinks that by working out for other teams they could potentially lose out on the player. As for the player, he can accept the promise, and not work out for others, if he likes the team, situation, coach, city, etc.

It's a calculated move by both parties.

[saltlover]

So I guess the promise is more like an agreement:

"If you dont work out for any other teams, I promise we will take you at 11"

Seems a bit silly for both.

For the player its likely that even if doesnt make this promise the team would take him at 11 and for the team its possible they enter a situation where they could be forced to pass on a stud because they promised.

When players work out for teams, they run the risk of injury.  Not to mention there is a risk that a player will fall down the draft board a little further than expected, and the team you didn't accept the promise from will not pick you on draft day.  Players have a general idea of where they'll be picked -- if you're agent is saying that somewhere between 9-17 is likely, and 11 says "stop working out, and you'll go at 11, you losing some upside while mitigating more downside.

Finally, you have to consider that a player might prefer one destination over another for reasons such as playing time, coaching staff, city locations, etc.  If Indiana, which is looking to go a different direction long term with the PG position has given Payne a guarantee, might it not be better to go there than see if Miami will pick him at 10 only to stick him behind Dragic for 4 years, and/or trade him somewhere else when it's convenient?

[hwangjini_1]

interesting points, though i have trouble seeing the logic in some situations.

do promises ever include caveats, such as?: " we will take you at #10, unless players x and y are available."

[Gainesville Celtic]

interesting points, though i have trouble seeing the logic in some situations.

do promises ever include caveats, such as?: " we will take you at #10, unless players x and y are available."

I think teams really only do it sparingly... maybe 1-2 teams a draft, if that.

And as others have said they only do it for a player they think could go higher if they worked out for other teams.

So, OKC may have seen enough in Cameron Payne -- if you believe the rumors they gave him a promise -- to put him something like 7th or 8th on their board when they're picking 14th.

They probably only issued him a promise if the other 6 are the consensus guys.... Towns, Okafor, Russell, Mudiay, Winslow, WCS (or someone else)... that they're fairly confident won't slip.

Teams also probably get some good will from teh player's agent b/c then that prospect doesn't have to work out for all the teams in the range they could go. From what i've heard the workout circuit prospects have to go through --- esp. say players in the late lottery and on --- is pretty gruelling (like a different city every day or every otehr day).

By the 4th or 5th stop a prospect could lose his legs, or just be worn down and news of a poor showing could spread.

So a team offering a prospect to not have to do that is a good thing for some prospects.

It also seems to add some intrigue to the player which also increases higher range interest in him... "who offered him a promise? why? what are we missing?..." Seems to be the case with Payne and IIRC Reggie Jackson 3-4 years ago.

[Boris Badenov]

Some Celtics-related discussion on this from the wayback machine.

http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=57308.0