NBA bringing back 5-on-5 at at draft combine?

Nerlens Noel is interviewed at the combine. (USATSI)

The NBA is bringing back 5-on-5 at the draft combine next year, according to ESPN's Chad Ford. This is good news for teams that wish to evaluate some sort of meaningful competition at the event.

General managers and scouts have been complaining for years that the lack of competition between prospects at the annual draft showcase lessens the scouting value of the combine. Since 2009, the NBA has had the 60 or so prospects invited to the combine run through various shooting and ballhandling drills with some minor simulated 3-on-2 action.

Prior to 2009, the league utilized a 5-on-5 format at what was then called "the pre-draft camp" in Orlando, Florida, and Chicago. However, then-commissioner David Stern changed the format early in 2009 after teams complained that the top prospects were no longer participating in the games. The pre-draft camp had devolved into a series of meaningless pickup games between mostly second-round prospects.

The switch to the new drills-based format opened space for more of the top prospects to participate. However, in the past few years, numerous top prospects have refused to participate even in the drills portion of the combine.

Top picks Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker and Joel Embiid didn't even show up to the combine this past May, and others skipped the drills and just used it as an opportunity to conduct interviews. Agents increasingly don't see the value in exposing their clients in that environment, which has made the whole thing seem sort of pointless.

It'll be interesting to see what the return of 5-on-5 competition means. Will any potential lottery picks play? Will the NBA try to mandate participation in the next round of CBA talks? At the very least, having games in that setting will give guys who see themselves as undervalued a chance to prove themselves with general managers in attendance.

Basketball Hot News

Ricky Rubio says speculation around Kevin Love “hurt the team and hurt himself”

Last season in Minnesota there only seemed to be two questions: “Wait, who is hurt now?” and “So, Kevin Love, where do you plan to play next season?”

Frankly the first question doesn’t get mentioned enough when discussing the Timberwolves struggles last season (although there certainly were issues beyond injuries), but the second one…

Ricky Rubio brought it up again talking about the future of the Timberwolves with Jeff Caplan of NBA.com.

“Of course we had a lot going on last year and the media was talking, they were wondering if Kevin wanted to be here, blah, blah, blah, and that hurt the team and hurt himself,” Rubio said. “Now that he’s not here, the media’s not going to talk about that anymore. I think that’s going to be good for him and for us.”

Um, maybe the not talking about him is nice Ricky, but the team is not better off. Maybe Wiggins can develop into the kind of talent Love is…. but Love already is. Okay, but time to move on…

Except this season Rubio could be the distraction.

Rubio’s name is going to come up in a lot of trade rumors this season as he is up for a contract extension and if not done by Oct. 31 (highly unlikely outcome) he is a restricted free agent. Team coach/president Flip Saunders doesn’t want to pay Rubio what the player (and his agent) think he can get on the open market. Rubio may be in for a surprise there, but in the short term Saunders is going to listen to legitimate offers, and those will flow in.

It will be Rubio’s year to hear “So, where do you plan to play next season?”

That said, he said he wants to take a leadership role on this team.

“We have to step up, especially me as a leader, be more vocal. Our young guys, they need someone to guide them. I think we have a lot of vets here that can do that. Mo [Williams] is a great example. Me and Kevin Martin can do the same thing.

“What I’ve been doing, since I am young, is leading by example, practicing hard and doing everything on the court. I have to learn how to be more vocal. I’m not good at that and I have to improve.”

It’s something that would help his trade value, too.