The NBA has finalized plans to expand the 2024 draft into a two-night event in New York, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.
The draft will split into first and second rounds on successive nights — June 26 and 27 — with the first-round remaining at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and the second round moving to ESPN’s Seaport District Studios in lower Manhattan, sources said.
The NBA and National Basketball Players Association had to formalize an agreement to make the changes from the traditional one-night event, and those talks were finalized recently, sources said. The NBA is expected to formally announce the two-night event on Wednesday, sources said.
The first round will continue to have 5 minutes between picks, and the second round will expand from 2 minutes to 4 minutes, sources said.
Among the reasons for the expansion of the event — including the programming for television rights partners — the NBA and teams are hopeful that the hours between the first and second rounds will give more time to make trades and plan strategies for the second night. Teams have been frustrated with the chaotic speed of the second round and believe there could be more order in the process with a day between the rounds.
This story originally appeared on ESPN
