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The NBA Draft process can be weird, from the questions asked to the amount of workouts done.
Former Kentucky Wildcats Kevin Knox and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander haven’t been exempt from the weirdness, as they pointed out to Sports Illustrated’s Jake Fischer today.
The weirdest of the stories comes from Knox, who said he was asked by a team if he had a child. He said no, but was continuously pressed about it, as if the team was accusing him of lying about not having a child.
The team eventually stopped and admitted that it was a hoax.
Kevin Knox says one team interview at the Combine pressed him if he had a child. Knox, was surprised, obviously replying “no.” The team asked again, saying their intel had learned he had a child. Knox asked for the kid’s name and the team finally relented, admitting it was hoax.
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) June 20, 2018
This was also an incident that Knox had previously addressed when he was a guest on Evan Daniels’ podcast.
That’s a pretty awful thing to do to a guy during an interview. You’d like to think adults could come up with better ways of interviewing teenagers during one of the most important times in their lives, but here we are.
Gilgeous-Alexander also spoke on his draft process, saying that he is “not allowed” to say which teams he has worked out for, which is odd considering that NBA teams are allowed to say which players they’re hosting for workouts.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander says he’s “not allowed” to share which teams he worked out for.
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) June 20, 2018
Perhaps this has something to do with the Raptors, who are rumored to be considering a trade up to select Gilgeous-Alexander. That would entail a lot of moving pieces since they don’t have a first-round pick, and they may have to trade one of their stars to make such a deal happen. That would explain why Gilgeous-Alexander isn’t allowed to talk about the workout.
These two will be the first Wildcats off the board Thursday, though it’s becoming more and more unclear who will go first. Regardless of that, their former head coach John Calipari will be there to support both of them.
Kevin Knox says John Calipari is going to bounce back and forth between his and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s green room tables, especially once Cal hears which team will select them. “He likes to be on camera. He likes media attention.”
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) June 20, 2018
Draft night is always one of Calipari’s biggest nights of the year. He gets to support his former players, promote his brand and get a little face time all in one night.