So I was under the impression this is an NBA lockout and as such the lockout rules apply to the teams and
the players, but wouldn’t extend beyond that. Guess I was wrong.
According to the Charlotte Observer (via cbssports.com), the NBA has told team scouts they are more than welcome to attend college games but they better steer clear of the practices because in the eyes of the NBA, scouts might run into an NBA player:
However, I’m told NBA scouts have been barred from attending practices, on the off chance they’d run into current NBA players back at their alma maters.
Essentially, teams have been told they can scout only events open to the general public (as in games, not practices). The scouts I know find practices important in evaluating players’ work habits and how they interact with coaches.
One scout I spoke with said it’s absurd the NBA doesn’t trust its player-personnel folk to practice common sense in these situations. As he put it, “So Mark Cuban can appear on the ESPYs with his players, but I can’t do my job on college campuses?”
Really NBA? Are you so dead-set on sticking it to the players in this lockout as to go this far? What’s next, team arena-concession workers can’t work at a local restaurant in the off chance an NBA player comes in to dine? That’s how dumb this rule is.
Just stop NBA. This lockout is bad enough. Now you are just taking this too far. What’s the next step? “Lockout police” at every college practice? Let the scouts do their jobs.
