The search for solutions to rampant tanking around the league was a prominent topic of discussion at the most recent NBA Competition Committee meeting in late January, Marc Stein of the Stein Line reports.
Despite league efforts in recent years to discourage tanking, including flattening lottery odds, nearly one-third of the teams appear to be incentived to lose as often as possible for the remainder of the season. That’s due to a top-heavy draft class, with potential franchise-altering talents Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer, AJ Dybantsa and Caleb Wilson available for the lottery winners.
The Jazz and the Wizards — both of whom made major trades last week — are especially motivated to finish in the bottom four to ensure that they can’t fall lower than eighth in May’s draft lottery. Both of those teams holds top-eight protected picks and in the last three lotteries, the team with the worst record fell to the No. 5 spot.
It’s noted around the league that the Spurs’ upswing coincides with their franchise landing top four picks in three straight drafts. Other executives noted to Stein that the Sixers’ tanking methods during the second half of last season landed them the No. 3 pick, which turned into VJ Edgecombe.
Commissioner Adam Silver will likely field numerous questions on the topic during his annual All-Star weekend press conference.
Here’s more from Stein:
- The Clippers received major interest in Kawhi Leonard in the final hour before last Thursday’s trade deadline after the Clippers’ decision to trade Ivica Zubac to Indiana became public knowledge. While they ultimately held onto their best player, potential suitors are expected to line up after the season to make offers for Leonard, who will have one year remaining on his contract and is extension eligible.
- While it’s been reported by The Stein Line that the Warriors were interested in signing Lonzo Ball after he clears waivers, they might pass on him because of health issues. NBA insider Chris Haynes reported over the weekend (Twitter link) that multiple teams are reviewing Ball’s medicals to determine whether to sign the veteran guard.
The NBA should be worried, period. Between every game turning into a three point shooting contest, dubious foul calls being whistled constantly, and a distinct inability for over half the players in the league to play defense, the game is borderline unwatchable half the time.
Anyone who thinks NBA players don’t play defense simply doesn’t watch games.
You must be younger. Defense is completely non existent these days compared to other era’s.
The man’s points are quite valid. Anyone who does try playing D gets hosed by the whistle.
Is there such thing as a travel these days? The favouritism toward offence is way out of hand. Well toward some players anyway.
Yet I keep hearing faster pace, this that and the other. Odd considering points per game right now is pretty on par with the 80’s where the three ball was non existent in comparison.
Personally the NBA is just kinda on the tele as I come and go in the regular season. It is hard to stay engaged in the regular season. Tell you what is easy though. Live betting if your having a punt, it’s pretty easy. I can tell how the games going to be played out quite early at a alarmingly accurate rate.
We’re the same age, I just consume a lot more modern basketball than you do, while you are living in the past thinking bad offense was good defense.
The fact you think I need to sit and watch every second to understand modern basketball is quite the insult from my perspective.
Where did I say you should watch EVERY second? You should start with a SINGLE second.
Hahaha hahahahaha 🤭👍
Why are you here ??
Due to this being an exceptionally strong draft I think tanking will Peter itself out being that the coming years doesn’t seem as strong.
The Jazz and Wizards might get the hammer thrown on them. The Jazz’s way of tanking is by sitting out their main guys for the 4th quarter. The Wizards’ way of tanking is by playing normally because they are so bad and sometimes by sitting their better players for the whole game.
Yeah that Jazz game was pretty bad – up by 17, sit the starters the whole 4th, lose. They didn’t even try to hide it.
Just make the draft completely random every year with no tie to standings.
Tanking is part of rebuilding. That’s how you build your team. NBA should watch is shutting down players to tank. Hornets and Jazz have been tanking forever. They still suck. Silver can always adjust the ping pong balls. If he needs to. Right Nico 😜
Silver complains about a lot of things wrong with nba however he has never come up with any type of solution.
He’s spineless and ineffective. The Aspiration investigation with the Clippers seems like a joke when Silver straight up *invited* Kawhi to the All-Star game.
He definitely has started to feel like the worst commish in the US, especially lately. He could just fine teams like he has a right to do iirc, but he won’t stand up to his bosses really (the owners) at the end of the day and just complains to the media and takes minimal steps to actually address the problems imo; He knows where to find the owners of the Wizards and Jazz, but he won’t
Mavs who won 39 gms and made play in *somehow* got #1 pick
Gtfo adam silver and stfu
They had a 1.8% chance. So, not impossible.
Why worry. I mean did anybody actually see the draft process or did a guy just come from out the green room with a envelope and say ‘this is the pick’
Nobody said boo, not a word. The draft order will be exactly what Silver wants it to be if done under the same circumstances as last draft.
Funny thing about these grand conspiracies. They fall a part easily. Got any proof. Why would 29 other teams want Dallas to have the number 1 pick?
Proof? Can you read? You got any proof the other way. I mean the man just walked out from behind the curtain and said this is what happened, trust us. Anybody actually see last drafts process, NO.
Go do some homework on how the lakers got magic back in the day. Who the F said the other 29 teams wanted Dallas to have the number one pick, nobody.
I’m taking bets, $1000 dollar buy in. I have ten envelopes I’ve packed myself. Whoever picks lucky no.1 wins the lot. You want in?
Bridge in Sydney I could sell you too.
How about a beach house in the middle of Australia. I’m sure we could get a deal done.
@Giants74: “Why would 29 other teams want Dallas to have the number 1 pick?”
Why would it matter what the other 29 teams want? Luka being on the Lakers is good for league profitability. In exchange for helping out, the Mavs get Flagg. It’s not even a grand conspiracy. It’s a very simple one.
Have you ever heard of a team negotiating exclusively with one team to trade away their perennial MVP candidate, especially when that player *didn’t* request a trade? Because that’s what happened. The Mavs (Nico) weirdly chose the Lakers, didn’t open it up to a bidding war, accepted a below-market value for Luka, then miraculously won the #1 pick in the draft a few months later despite an almost zero percent chance of that happening. You’re never going to get ‘proof’ of something like that but there’s enough circumstanial evidence and unexplainable behavior for conspiracy to make perfect sense.
With the rules the NBA has, why wouldn’t teams tank? The salary cap forces team to get broken up to early. The GLEAGUE isn’t helpful in developing players. They have to look at colleges to develop players.
You can look at other sports. Except for crappy owners, tanking is not a big issue.
They need to add more rounds to the draft. Get rid of the two way contracts. Have every GLEAGUE player directly assigned to a team. Allow veterans to play in the GLeague. They also need to upgrade the coaching.
With good coaching, players can actually learn their positions and get the minutes playing in that role. Young players can learn from veterans. Not every player will become an All-Star. But, they develop into serviceable rotation players.
That is part of went wrong with Kuminga. The Warriors drafted him at 18. I doubt he had any coaching in the GLeague. He was definitely raw. The Ignite had below standard facilities. Kerr was his first taste of coaching. A year of college probably could have helped him transition to the NBA.
The G-league teams are owned and managed by their NBA team. It’s their responsibility to coach and develop young talent. There are teams that use it right. Heat probably the best. Knicks under Thibs. Mavs have two PGs from G-league. It’s getting there. With all these 18-19 yr olds coming in. You need it more than ever.
The league needs to stop rewarding terrible teams and punishing teams that try to be competitive but miss the playoffs. They should reverse the draft lottery odds, giving the worst teams the worst odds, and the best non playoff team gets the best odds.
The problem is that if a team is just truly terrible. When they dont manipulate it at all, and are just such garbage they cant win when they try. If you try to reward teams that are decent but just miss you could end up with something like the EFL where most teams relegated from the premier are the ones just promoted. You have this perpetual bottom that if you end up in it can be impossible to get out of.
I get that it hurts gates, but the league also generates SO much interest/content from the draft, summer league, and then trades. Prospect intrigue is also higher with NIL.
Bottom line is it’s turning into its own cash cow. And if that’s the case, then I think you have to accept some shenanigans in the last 6 weeks of the season.
This year is different. Check out previous years – there were always 1-3 teams at 20 wins or below. There were even years when all 30 teams were above 20 wins.
Currently, there are 6 who are aiming for 20 or fewer wins on the season. But Utah probably won’t be able to get there; they already have too many at 16.
The only to fix this issue entirely is this:
Eliminate this front office incompetence by allowing each team to make 1 player their cornerstone, franchise player, and then completely re-draft every other player, so every team is on paper at least a .500 team. Do this every 5 years. It’s on the untalented front office GMs making terrible decisions that are not based on putting a winning team on the court, and instead about any other factor. Fans should not have to suffer as much as they do at the hands of a couple of untalented morons in the front office.
Make a rule that you cannot be in the top 4 or 6 picks two years in a row… wouldn’t completely fix the problem, but would reduce it. Sitting out players is an issue, fans need to see the stars playing. Reducing amount of games may help that but NBA do not want that.
At least with English soccer, you have more to play for with relegation involved.
They won’t do anything.