NBA discussion creating a tourney for bad teams to avoid tanking & determine draft order

I think every team should have an equal chance to get the #1 pick...simple approach and eliminates the need for tanking.

 

Controversial:

The current system isn't terrible.
Tanking to be one of the worst teams has been part of the NBA for years and years.

Increasing the penalties for flagrant tanking can help, but teams will simply find more creative ways around the rules.

Options to improve the system:
Spread the odds further - worst 8 teams all have the best odds?
Change pick protections to 'lotto or non-lotto'



The problem with removing the current system is thst bad teams NEED a reason to believe they might be able to rise from the ashes one day. There will always be the Kings, but in a league where stars pout snd demand trades, there needs to be a leveller to allow franchises in less iconic locations to garner another star.


Also: OKC built themselves through clever tanking. Not sure they should be the team complaining....

 

So when okc gets flagg or the durant warriors get luka or say the tatum/brown Celtics get wemby, what do you do? Not watch for 5 years?

 

Let’s address the rigged lotteries first.

Spoiler

LeBron to hometown Cleveland
Rose to hometown Chicago
French man ends up in San Antonio. Ray Charles and everyone else saw that coming the year before.
Mutombo/Sixers lottery
Hornets trade Paul, get #1 AD. Trade AD to Lakers, get #1 Zion.
Mavs trade Luka, get #1 Flagg (despite 10th or 11th “best” odds)

Same offseason AD requests trade, Pelicans jump from 7 to 1(Zion) and Lakers jump from 11! to 4.

Spurs tanked for years, no one cared.
Cavs tanked for years, no one cared.
Rockets tanked for a few years, no one cared.

Hornets have “sucked” for years, no one cared.
Kings have “sucked” for years, no one cared.
Magic have “sucked” for years, no one cared.
Pelicans have “sucked” for years, no one cared.
Wizards have “sucked” for years, no one cared.
Timberwolves prior to Ant & KAT “sucked” for years, no one cared.

Sixers tanked for years, they got Hinkie up outta there.

Is your franchise in the “exclusive club” or not?

Jazz might not be in that club.

It’s ok to suck, miss on your draft picks, be bad for years but don’t you dare hold out Jaren Jackson Jr.!
It’s ok to take advantage of bad teams and get their future draft picks via trade but don’t you dare hold out Lauri Markkanen!
If you want to suck, suck the right way! None of this holding players out stuff!

lol

And the b**** ass Thunder crying.

 

Like that idea.

The goal is to give better draft odds to truly weak teams, not teams temporarily weakened by injuries or other setbacks. Lottery odds based on multi-year performance, not just a single season ... maybe something like this.

Weighted example:
Year 1: 25%
Year 2: 35%
Year 3: 40%

This ensures that one year of tanking or bad luck barely affects your draft position.

Additional conditions to keep it fair and hard to game:
1- Star-reset rule: If a team acquires an All-NBA level player during the 3-year window, previous poor years are ignored, and lottery odds reflect the current roster strength.
2- Lottery odds cap: Teams with an All-NBA player (even if temporarily injured) can only draft as high as 5th; with 2 All-Stars, as high as 7th.
3- Post-elimination lock: Once a team is mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, their current win-loss percentage is locked, and any remaining games in the season do not change their lottery odds.

This gives the highest lottery odds to consistent, genuinely weak teams, discourages intentional tanking, and prevents teams that are temporarily unlucky or artificially collapse after adding elite talent from gaining an advantage. Percentages and weights can be adjusted over time to fine-tune fairness and competitiveness.

 

delete

 

YES! I have been saying that for years. You can almost predict who gets the #1
Don't forget when LeBron left cleveland the first time.... 3 FP in 4 years

 

No matter what they do, its always going to be cheating. Be it the NBA teams INTENTIONALLY tanking or the NBA itself RIGGING the lottery, like they did with Wemby and Cooper Flagg.

I think its a case of the pot calling the kettle black

 

Genuinely don't know why they struggle so hard with this. Flatten the lottery odds for all of the teams who don't make the playoffs, then add a position-based rebate incentive for all the times in the league - the higher you finish the more cut of the tv revenue you get. Simples.

 

At least everyone has an equal opportunity to win the #1 pick and it prevents tanking.
Yes, teams can still trade to get draft picks. I think the salary cap should be more hard cap like the NFL if the NBA draft change I proposed is ever considered...that would prevent creating super teams

 

What the Utah Jazz did, was just disrespectful to the game, fans, and players who care. I didnt watch the Rockets when Silas was here, so I dont know how bad we tanked.
My solution would be to fine the owners if you are caught tanking, take away the number of lottery balls they have. Worst team in the league could wind up with the same odds as number 14 team

 

Ya i hope the nba never does anything like you're suggesting, it would be a disaster obviously. As utterly stupid and inept as silver is, i don't think eve he would do that. The NBA cap is 100 times more restrictive as it is compared to the nfl cap, which is basically meaningless.

 

THIS 10000000000000% - on your way to eliminating the NCAA and its cynical pretense of 'amateur' athletics. NIL $$$ should NEVER have been a thing (no disrespect to individual athletes).

 

Seeing as how there is a reasonably empirical premise behind the 3-year cycle of team development, it does bring up some truly hot-takey ideas.
What if... there were, outside of free agency, a 'talent redistribution' draft every 3 years, along the lines of an expansion draft, where let's say the top 5 / bottom 5 teams in terms of record have to exchange 3 algorithmically-selected players (2 starters and a bench player), and the league addresses the pay & salary issues created with competitive balance provisions/allowances?

 

I don't like this as a team's ability can change quickly. Also, it makes it much more beneficial to tank multiple years.

I don't think tanking can be prevented completely or even well. For me, no ping pong balls unless a team can win more than 20 games. No pick protection or Top 3 or 4 only to prevent the tanking by teams to keep a trade pick with protections. If a team doesn't win 20 games in a season they don't own their 1st round pick, the team losses those balls from the next draft(s) that they are in the lottery.

 

It also gives a team less ability to pinpoint an nba draft that is considered strong and tank only that year for that strong draft.

 

Not sure about Cavs, but I've heard enough from Spurs fans about the Rockets tanking andd Rockets fans about the Spurs tanking to know there are people that care.

 

Do the draft lottery before the season starts. All teams with same odds. Create a system that increases odds as the season goes on based on w-l record. So a really good team that got #1 odds in the offseason now has to choose to tank their playoff spot for a player. They won’t do that. A bad team that got low odds in the summer can increase their odds by losing as good teams want to remain good despite their draft spot, they fall, but maybe also do something where the most competitive losing teams based on point differential increase odds? So the most competitive losing team should be the most rewarded.
Idk I’m just bored thinking out loud. Mid teams can probably tank while staying competitive and then have a top tier team but that process still takes years as the player develops. Also a top tier team could lose their star to season ending injury and get even more stacked so Idk