COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Hopeless in Oklahoma City? Anxious in Cleveland? Impatient in Charlotte?

To those geographically forlorn and financially restricted NBA franchises, hope is coming. In the wake of the major-market magnetism that unfolded in the NBA’s summer of 2019, the brightest beacon for those jilted NBA franchises comes from the 2022 NBA draft.

The ballyhooed “Double Draft” should arrive in 2022 because of a confluence of high-end players from two talented high school classes. That’s expected to be the first season when the NBA rule change goes into effect that will pare down the NBA age minimum from 19 to 18. That means all of the country’s best one-and-done players from 2021 and prep-to-pro prospects from 2022 will combine for a blockbuster draft that, in theory, will have double the high-end talent.

“I think it’s going to be a monumental draft class, potentially a generational class,” Rivals.com recruiting analyst Corey Evans said. “The infiltration of the one-and-done class from 2021 and the potential of the straight-to-the-pros group makes it a tsunami of talent, like two draft classes in one.”

NBA franchises are already positioning themselves for the chance to cash in on all the talent. The sweetener for the 2022 draft is the allure of expected No. 1 overall pick Emoni Bates. He’s a rising sophomore in Michigan who is already considered the country’s best NBA prospect, regardless of age. Expect Bates to become the face of the newest prep-to-pro age, just like Kevin Garnett was a generation ago. “From a talent perspective,” Evans said, “Emoni is one of the best freshmen the industry has seen in the last decade.”

The NBA scouting set, replete with their Gucci sneakers, jaded eyes and unimpressed scowls, are adjusting to the expected new world. According to the NBA, scouts are typically allowed into five high school events each calendar year. (The McDonald’s All American Game and practices, for example, are staples.) This season, the NBA added the Nike Top 100 in St. Louis, which featured the best players in 2021 and 2022.

There’s also been increased access to USA Basketball, as NBA personnel will also be flooding Colorado Springs this weekend – sitting alongside the country’s top college coaches – to peek at nearly 70 of the country’s best high school players invited to the USA Men’s Junior National Mini-Camp.

Emoni Bates pulls down a rebound during a late 2017 game. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) More

According to the NBA, it’s allowed only one additional event this season for scouts and front-office members to attend. But those around the grassroots world have seen and felt a significant uptick of NBA scouting presence the past two years. Essentially, it would be unwise from a negotiating standpoint for the league to make any assumptions about 2022 being the year the draft rule changes until an agreement with the players’ association. (The looming issue holding things up involves players’ medical records.)

The NBA initially came to 2022 as the first year for prep players to return to the pros, in part, because before this offseason no first-round picks had been traded. So it’s the widespread assumption that’s the year high school players will be going pro.

“I think it makes you shift some of the focus and put a little more manpower down on the grassroots part of it,” a veteran NBA executive said. “So you can kind of stay ahead of it, so now people can try and really cover events.”

All of that is expected to coalesce with the 2022 draft, as savvy NBA teams have already positioned their franchises to exploit a draft with unprecedented depth. Atlanta, Brooklyn, Cleveland, Memphis, New Orleans and Oklahoma City are positioned for multiple first-round picks, pending the complications from pick protections. (Oklahoma City could have as many as three first-round picks, provided they stay in the lottery and depending where Denver finishes.)

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