Teams are giving widespread support to the league’s proposal to more evenly distribute the chances that lottery teams have of winning the top overall pick, sources tell Grantland’s Zach Lowe. Owners could vote on the proposal, which would reduce the chance the worst team has at the No. 1 pick from 25% to 11%, as early as this season, Lowe adds. It’s unclear when the change would take effect. Lowe wrote in July that the new rules might be in place in time for the 2015 lottery, but followed a few weeks later to note that many took issue with the idea of such a sudden change.
The proposal, one of several the league has considered, didn’t initially inspire much fervent support, but it appears from Lowe’s latest dispatch that it has picked up steam. A “powerful distaste” for the radical rebuilding effort the Sixers are undertaking is fueling the desire to lessen the incentive that teams have to bottom out, Lowe writes. Philly’s brass is at least cool to the idea of change, if not actively resisting it.
There is concern around the league that making it tougher for the very worst teams to win the lottery will make it more difficult for small-market teams to succeed, according to Lowe, since building through the draft is a cost-effective alternative to marquee free agent pursuits. Still, it’s unclear whether this fear is enough to derail any changes or prompt the league to adopt milder reforms.
Another example of the league trying to ensure its larger markets are successful. Small markets rely on the draft for any chance of a star and have a signficantly tougher road to build any other way (as marquee FA will not sign with small markets).
This rule would be very dumb