Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Amid several gambling scandals that have cast the league in an ugly light, the NBA is yet again considering altering its rules to discourage teams from tanking for higher draft picks.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reports that commissioner Adam Silver has spoken to a number of owners across the league about ways to prevent tanking. The news comes weeks after former Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and former Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier were arrested as part of an FBI gambling sting.
According to Charania, the league’s board of governors met last Friday and discussed several ideas and changes regarding draft pick protections and the draft lottery, among other topics.
NBA Considering Several New Rules Changes To Combat Tanking
Despite team tanking not being at the heart of the league’s gambling issues, it seems to remain a focus for NBA commissioner Adam Silver.
Charania states that the league has discussed making the following changes in order to prevent teams from intentionally fielding weakened teams in the search for a higher draft pick:
• Limiting pick protections to either top four or 14 and higher, which would eliminate the problematic mid-lottery protections.
• No longer allowing a team to draft in the top four two years in a row.
• Locking lottery positions after March 1.
There are, however, several flaws with the proposals.
For one, locking lottery positions earlier in the season would just cause teams who know they’re unlikely to compete for a championship to tank sooner. Barring teams from picking in the top four two years in a row would harm teams that aren’t located in free agent destinations, and limiting pick protections would probably lessen the number of moves we see made at the NBA trade deadline.
So, of course, each proposal comes with its own downside. But it seems clear that Silver seems intent on pushing through some sort of major change, if not multiple.