Sixers want to delay lottery reform?

[Dcebucks11]

It's obvious why Cavs fans are so obsessed with the Sixers, we have two players they should have drafted.

Id easily have Wiggins rather than Embiid and from the sounds of it before the draft Sixers fans wanted Wiggins more than Embiid too. Embiid struggled against NBA caliber defenders in College and his injuries are a major problem.

Embiid and Noel will probably end up spending more time on the bench than on the court in their career.

You know you don't believe that. You wanted Embiid and we lucked up and got him. Deal with it.

Nope, I breathed a sigh of relief when his injury came up. Noway were the Cavs picking him than. After that injury I wouldn't want the Cavs to touch him in the top 5 even. Im very happy with Wiggins or Love if the Cavs can get him.

[CoreyGallagher]

Dcebucks11 can have his opinion, who cares? We got the player that a majority of the experts believed to be far and away the best prospect in the draft, just be content. As I mentioned before, his injury doesn't affect that, it just heightens the risk, a risk that we hope to alleviate to the best of our ability by allowing him ample amounts of time to rehab.

[Unbreakable99]

Id easily have Wiggins rather than Embiid and from the sounds of it before the draft Sixers fans wanted Wiggins more than Embiid too. Embiid struggled against NBA caliber defenders in College and his injuries are a major problem.

Embiid and Noel will probably end up spending more time on the bench than on the court in their career.

You know you don't believe that. You wanted Embiid and we lucked up and got him. Deal with it.

Nope, I breathed a sigh of relief when his injury came up. Noway were the Cavs picking him than. After that injury I wouldn't want the Cavs to touch him in the top 5 even. Im very happy with Wiggins or Love if the Cavs can get him.

Bottom line is the Sixers tanked last hear and it worked. We got the top prospect in the draft. We ended up with the biggest difference maker. The Sixers won the draft for their fabulous tank job. Stop crying.

[Embiid P]

The funny thing is as horrible as the talent was that Hinkie put out last season, we still weren't even the worst team in the league record-wise even after the 26 game losing streak. What does that say about the Bucks who had many 4th quarter leads only to suspiciously blow them in the end?

It's funny how the national media has made no mention of them tanking only us. God forbid Hinkie takes an approach that helps his team get better in the long run. If the NBA wanted to address the issue of tanking, it should have done it years ago not now.

As some have already suggested in this thread, how about making it so that a team can't win the lotto in back-to-back years and 3 out of the past 4 seasons? Or preventing a team from having a top 5 pick for 3 or more years? Or doing away with guaranteed contracts period so teams won't be forced to tank as much?

We've only been at this for 1 season and now likely 2. By contrast, how long have teams like the Clippers (before Blake), the Cavs (after LeBron left the first time), the Thunder (before Durant), Jazz, the Kings, T-Wolves and Bobcats/Hornets been in the lottery? Significantly longer than we have yet nothing was ever done about them.

[MrPerfect1]

We've only been at this for 1 season and now likely 2. By contrast, how long have teams like the Clippers (before Blake), the Cavs (after LeBron left the first time), the Thunder (before Durant), Jazz, the Kings, T-Wolves and Bobcats/Hornets been in the lottery? Significantly longer than we have yet nothing was ever done about them.

Making changes to the lottery due to the 76ers is stupid since it comes across as reactionary and short sighted.

However, you cannot really compare the 76ers to those other teams. The Clippers, Bobcats, etc kept ending up in the lottery due to selecting awful players each year (Darius Miles, Olowokandi, Morrison, etc). Sucking because you keep drafting busts is philosophically different than intentionally trading away your best players and then specifically picking players you know will not be able to even step on the court for you.

[Embiid P]

We've only been at this for 1 season and now likely 2. By contrast, how long have teams like the Clippers (before Blake), the Cavs (after LeBron left the first time), the Thunder (before Durant), Jazz, the Kings, T-Wolves and Bobcats/Hornets been in the lottery? Significantly longer than we have yet nothing was ever done about them.

Making changes to the lottery due to the 76ers is stupid since it comes across as reactionary and short sighted.

However, you cannot really compare the 76ers to those other teams. The Clippers, Bobcats, etc kept ending up in the lottery due to selecting awful players each year (Darius Miles, Olowokandi, Morrison, etc). Sucking because you keep drafting busts is philosophically different than intentionally trading away your best players and then specifically picking players you know will not be able to even step on the court for you.

In that case, why punish a front office that clearly knows what it's doing as opposed to those who had no idea what they were doing?

We traded away our best players because otherwise we would have had to drastically overpay to keep them or lose them for nothing in the offseason. Hinkie got the most that he could for Turner and Hawes. In hindsight, they appear to have been pretty good deals.

Hinkie picked Noel, Embiid and Saric simply because they were the arguably the best available players at their slots. Embiid is the best talent in the draft when healthy, as was Noel last year, not to mention that Hinkie received an additional 2 first rounders along with Noel and Saric in their respective deals. It just so happens that Noel missed all of last season and Embiid and Saric will likely miss all of this season.

Who's even to say that Hinkie even planned on tanking for another year heading up to the draft? It just may have very well worked out that way.

[Chamberlainship]

It's too early to declare Hinkie a great drafter. I like some of our prospects, but right now they're just prospects.

Hard for the sixers to claim unfairness. Is it reasonable to rely on the rules staying the same when you're openly fielding a summer league team in the regular season for two consecutive years and saying it's a success?

If you do things that bring negative publicity to the league, the league *may* take action. If sixers didn't take this into consideration, it's a flaw in their decision-making process.

[LloydFree]

It's too early to declare Hinkie a great drafter. I like some of our prospects, but right now they're just prospects.

Hard for the sixers to claim unfairness. Is it reasonable to rely on the rules staying the same when you're openly fielding a summer league team in the regular season for two consecutive years and saying it's a success?

If you do things that bring negative publicity to the league, the league *may* take action. If sixers didn't take this into consideration, it's a flaw in their decision-making process.

I don't agree with the league waiting until August to announce changes, but I do agree with your point. The front office should have a plan B. They knew they were taking advantage of the rules (and what it looked like) so they should expect the possibility of retribution.

[Embiid P]

Hopefully even if the league decides to implement the new lotto system this year, it won't affect us that much. Most of the top 5 picks are expected to be positions that currently aren't our biggest need (C, PF, and PG). Even if we are unlucky enough to pick outside of the top 5, we'll still be able to nab the best of our biggest need (SG, SF) in Hezonja or Stanley Johnson.

[Skates]

Is it just me, or do other people find this thing silly and fairly inconsequential? The rules changes would still give teams with poor records a good chance at a very good pick, and it isn't like the Sixers have had the top pick in the last two drafts, yet they still came away with:

2013 Draft - consensus top rated player, or damn clse to it, when healthy - Noels at 6
2013 Draft - ROY - MCW at 11
2014 Draft - again, near consensus top rated player, when healthy - Embiid at 3
2014 Draft - Top seven rated player and best Euro player - Saric at 12

So the team damn well knows how to find value at something other than the number one pick, and next year which should be the last yer we really worry about high picks, it looks like there will be enough depth near the top of the draft to add a really good player even if they drop to the 7 or 8 spot.

I also have to laugh about the idea that our team's losing streak was the worst thing ever last year, when the freaking Bucks finished several games behind us. The media loves this story as do jealous frnachises with owners who demand competitive mediocrity, and the best part being that a new system like this really won't screw the Sixers as much as it will those teams that drop to the bottom from true incompetence (mind you, Hinkie was and is ressurecting the team from utter incompetence in the first place).

[Mr Sixer]

Id easily have Wiggins rather than Embiid and from the sounds of it before the draft Sixers fans wanted Wiggins more than Embiid too. Embiid struggled against NBA caliber defenders in College and his injuries are a major problem.

Embiid and Noel will probably end up spending more time on the bench than on the court in their career.

You know you don't believe that. You wanted Embiid and we lucked up and got him. Deal with it.

Nope, I breathed a sigh of relief when his injury came up. Noway were the Cavs picking him than. After that injury I wouldn't want the Cavs to touch him in the top 5 even. Im very happy with Wiggins or Love if the Cavs can get him.

What did you do with your old account where you were a heat fan?

[Ericb5]

Is it just me, or do other people find this thing silly and fairly inconsequential? The rules changes would still give teams with poor records a good chance at a very good pick, and it isn't like the Sixers have had the top pick in the last two drafts, yet they still came away with:

2013 Draft - consensus top rated player, or damn clse to it, when healthy - Noels at 6
2013 Draft - ROY - MCW at 11
2014 Draft - again, near consensus top rated player, when healthy - Embiid at 3
2014 Draft - Top seven rated player and best Euro player - Saric at 12

So the team damn well knows how to find value at something other than the number one pick, and next year which should be the last yer we really worry about high picks, it looks like there will be enough depth near the top of the draft to add a really good player even if they drop to the 7 or 8 spot.

I also have to laugh about the idea that our team's losing streak was the worst thing ever last year, when the freaking Bucks finished several games behind us. The media loves this story as do jealous frnachises with owners who demand competitive mediocrity, and the best part being that a new system like this really won't screw the Sixers as much as it will those teams that drop to the bottom from true incompetence (mind you, Hinkie was and is ressurecting the team from utter incompetence in the first place).

If my understanding is correct then the most consequential aspect of this is that they would be drawing the first 6 picks instead of just the first 3. The implication of that is that 6 teams could leap ahead of you instead of 3.

So if you finish with the worst record you could theoretically end up with the 7th pick, and that is a bit harsh.

[hookshot199]

ISo if you finish with the worst record you could theoretically end up with the 7th pick, and that is a bit harsh.

Looking at this a different way. It's possible, in some cases likely, that the Sixers will have a better record than Boston Detroit, New York, Utah and Milwaukee. Possibly even the Lakers depending on Kobe's return.

If so, and we finish fifth, sixth or seventh, we might be on the receiving end of a draft night windfall.

[snoopdogg88]

Having the worst team in the league potentially getting the 7th pick is absurd

Absurd enough that I would seriously stop watching the NBA

[LongLiveHinkie]

People will label you "not a true fan!" but I wouldn't blame you. I've been in situations where I have stopped watching the NBA for periods of time, and also was in situations where I knew I'd never watch the NBA again. Like I said before, back at the lottery, if the Sixers fell to 5th and the Celtics got the #1 pick, I would have been done with the NBA for at least a decade if not forever.

[Sixerscan]

It's too early to declare Hinkie a great drafter. I like some of our prospects, but right now they're just prospects.

Hard for the sixers to claim unfairness. Is it reasonable to rely on the rules staying the same when you're openly fielding a summer league team in the regular season for two consecutive years and saying it's a success?

If you do things that bring negative publicity to the league, the league *may* take action. If sixers didn't take this into consideration, it's a flaw in their decision-making process.

**** that noise. You can't just change a rule like this without any warning. This isn't a dress code or something Teams have made trades under this system. When we traded for the pelicans 2014 pick top 3 protected last year, we did it under the assumption that they would be around the 10th worst team and thus not have very good odds to lose the pick. Making a change like this heavily change the value of the pick.

Doing this now would be completely tone deaf and a sign that they are more concerned about making it look like they are fixing the problem even if it causes all new issues.

Make the change but make it so it comes into effect after all currently owed picks are given out.

[F-Stop]

lottery reform needs to happen. A time period for the changes needs to be put in place.

However with that the NBA needs to invest in itself with a full D-league.
I am really tired of the watered down talent excuses. IMO there are many high level/high talent players.

The issue has always been a lack development after high school.
There is top flight talent out there the outlet to find the talent is just too small.

[Skates]

There is not and will not be a system where tanking of some kind won't be encouraged, short of the lottery wheel which could produce really absurd results. Teams tank based on draft pick protection, like Detroit last year, before Charlotte skunked them in the lottery. The propsoed system makes it more appealing to just miss the playoffs in the East thant o make them, where you lose not only 6-7 chances at a top pick, but have a bunch of better Western Conference teams who missed the playoffs jump in front of you too.

Shouldn't league wide balance be a goal of the draft system? In that case, draft order should be determined by record alone, not by making the playoffs or not, unless they reform the playoff system first.

[Embiid P]

The NBA trying to fix the lottery system is the equivalent of slapping a band-aid on a bullet wound. There are bigger underlying issues that need to be fixed which would ultimately help alleviate though not completely eliminate the league's tanking problem.

One is that the league is watered-down in terms of talent. There are too many bad teams that are forced to tank to acquire more talent. I think the most effective solution to this issue (though also the most unlikely to happen) is contraction. Get rid of the perennially bad teams in small markets whose fans don't give a **** about the team. For the loyal fans who do follow, it sucks, but they can always find another team to watch.

Another is the issue of guaranteed contracts under a salary cap. A soft cap, but a cap nonetheless. Sure the NBA addressed this issue somewhat in the most recent CBA with the amnesty clause, but it needs to do a better job in the next CBA at addressing this. Even if they have to waste an entire season if not longer when the Sixers are finally contenders to eliminate guaranteed contracts, it would be worth it in the long run.

Finally, the NBA regular season is too long. Shorten it to 60-65 games or so. It would make each individual game that much more important, help to disguise bad teams tanking and prevent good teams like the Heat, Spurs, Thunder, etc. from coasting by resting their players and such thus making the NBA's product more watchable to the casual fan. Again, highly unlikely to happen, but definitely something that the league should consider for the future. I'm sure the players wouldn't mind having a few more off-days during the season.

These steps as opposed to changing the current lotto system would go a long way in helping to reduce tanking among other things.

[Ericb5]

ISo if you finish with the worst record you could theoretically end up with the 7th pick, and that is a bit harsh.

Looking at this a different way. It's possible, in some cases likely, that the Sixers will have a better record than Boston Detroit, New York, Utah and Milwaukee. Possibly even the Lakers depending on Kobe's return.

If so, and we finish fifth, sixth or seventh, we might be on the receiving end of a draft night windfall.

We are worse than all of those teams imo, and the fact that we COULD benefit from the change doesn't mean that this isn't unfair. The only thing that sucks about this is that they are potentially going to implement it immediately which obviously hurts any teams that are currently in the bottom 5. Tanking has gone on for generations and most every team has been guilty of it before so punishing any specific teams is totally unfair.

They need to do this at least 2 years from now for it to be somewhat even handed.