NBA looking to change Draft Lottery; 76ers say no

[Effigy]

Also, it's not like it's too late for the Sixers to be competitive. They're sitting on like $24 million in cap space. Go sign Eric Bledsoe and Shawn Marion. Make an offer for Greg Monroe. These are impact players that could help you THIS year. Monroe may seem unnecessary, but with the injury concerns to both Nerlins and Embid, he makes for a really nice insurance policy and they can take their time with those guys. We already know Embid won't play this year. Have a 3 big rotation in the 2015-16 season and if Nerlins and Embid both seem ready to go, trade Monroe who will only have 2 years left in the off season for a stud impact wing.

[BullyKing]

Never gonna happen, but I like the idea of fining the bottom five owners. It means owners will push winning from the top and it will trickle down to the GM and players. Will make for a more competitive league.

Except the teams most likely to be at the bottom are the small market teams that can't afford or attract the big free agents. So you are going to financially penalize the teams that can least afford to pay it. Yep, that will solve everything.

[omerome]

Never gonna happen, but I like the idea of fining the bottom five owners. It means owners will push winning from the top and it will trickle down to the GM and players. Will make for a more competitive league.

Except the teams most likely to be at the bottom are the small market teams that can't afford or attract the big free agents. So you are going to financially penalize the teams that can least afford to pay it. Yep, that will solve everything.

Isn't that why revenue sharing was proposed into the CBA? To benefit small market teams?

[BullyKing]

Also, it's not like it's too late for the Sixers to be competitive. They're sitting on like $24 million in cap space. Go sign Eric Bledsoe and Shawn Marion. Make an offer for Greg Monroe. These are impact players that could help you THIS year. Monroe may seem unnecessary, but with the injury concerns to both Nerlins and Embid, he makes for a really nice insurance policy and they can take their time with those guys. We already know Embid won't play this year. Have a 3 big rotation in the 2015-16 season and if Nerlins and Embid both seem ready to go, trade Monroe who will only have 2 years left in the off season for a stud impact wing.

Why not just have the league run every team? I mean, if we're not going to let teams rebuild how they think best, just have the league assign free agents every year however they want. Bledsoe and Monroe are RFAs, which means you must overpay what they are worth to prevent their current teams from matching. So basically the Sixers should be forced to overpay players. Sounds like a plan.

[Snotbubbles]

It all comes down to the League should have announced the changes June 1st, instead of the middle of July. Teams' long term plans haves already been made. Ultimately, the changes will hurt the 76ers in year 2 of this rebuild, but only slightly. The 76ers would benefit in year 3, if Embiid comes back healthy and makes any kind of impact.

I don't think that matters. The Sixers know they aren't supposed to tank. They were circumventing the spirit of the rules if not the letter of the law. Now they want another year so they can keep circumventing it? I'm sorry, no. It's like if a college professor starts sleeping with a student at a college where there is no explicit rule about it and then the college puts in a rule about it, he doesn't get to keep sleeping with her just because it used to technically be legal. He knew damn well he *shouldn't* be doing that regardless what the actual rule said.

I don't see anyone giving the Magic any grief. They've won 20 and 23 games the past two years and just traded Aflalo. Why is that ok but the Sixers are tanking for trading Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes? I don't understand.

The Sixers tried maximized the value of the assets they had. They didn't sit players to lose games. They identified players that weren't in their long-term plans and traded them for other assets that could become long-term assets. Why does a team like Orlando get a pass? Because they drafted players that will play immediately?

[Chicago-Bull-E]

Never gonna happen, but I like the idea of fining the bottom five owners. It means owners will push winning from the top and it will trickle down to the GM and players. Will make for a more competitive league.

Except the teams most likely to be at the bottom are the small market teams that can't afford or attract the big free agents. So you are going to financially penalize the teams that can least afford to pay it. Yep, that will solve everything.

The top 4 teams in the league last year were San Antonio, OKC, Indiana, and Miami. Not exactly monster markets.

Bottom 4 were Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Utah. LA and Philly are top 5 in the country in population.

I understand the thinking, but it isn't as big a deal as everyone says. Maybe tax them a percentage of THEIR revenue? So if you tax 2% of Milwaukee with a 20 million revenue, its much different than taxing the Lakers with a 50 million revenue.

[BullyKing]

Never gonna happen, but I like the idea of fining the bottom five owners. It means owners will push winning from the top and it will trickle down to the GM and players. Will make for a more competitive league.

Except the teams most likely to be at the bottom are the small market teams that can't afford or attract the big free agents. So you are going to financially penalize the teams that can least afford to pay it. Yep, that will solve everything.

Isn't that why revenue sharing was proposed into the CBA? To benefit small market teams?

Yes, but now with one hand you want to help small market teams while punishing them with the other. What good is the revenue sharing if you are just going to take that money back as punishment for being bad?

It would be like the competitive balance picks in baseball except the day after they are awarded, they are taken away as punishment for sucking.

[Snotbubbles]

Also, it's not like it's too late for the Sixers to be competitive. They're sitting on like $24 million in cap space. Go sign Eric Bledsoe and Shawn Marion. Make an offer for Greg Monroe. These are impact players that could help you THIS year. Monroe may seem unnecessary, but with the injury concerns to both Nerlins and Embid, he makes for a really nice insurance policy and they can take their time with those guys. We already know Embid won't play this year. Have a 3 big rotation in the 2015-16 season and if Nerlins and Embid both seem ready to go, trade Monroe who will only have 2 years left in the off season for a stud impact wing.

That's a brilliant strategy. Let's lock ourselves into a multiple year deal with guys like Bledsoe or Monroe and limit our flexibility so that when a guy like Durant comes on the market we won't have the space to make an offer. Signing a guy like Marion does absolutely nothing to move this team forward. Signing the other two guys hurts you long-term.

[LloydFree]

It all comes down to the League should have announced the changes June 1st, instead of the middle of July. Teams' long term plans haves already been made. Ultimately, the changes will hurt the 76ers in year 2 of this rebuild, but only slightly. The 76ers would benefit in year 3, if Embiid comes back healthy and makes any kind of impact.

I don't think that matters. The Sixers know they aren't supposed to tank. They were circumventing the spirit of the rules if not the letter of the law. Now they want another year so they can keep circumventing it? I'm sorry, no. It's like if a college professor starts sleeping with a student at a college where there is no explicit rule about it and then the college puts in a rule about it, he doesn't get to keep sleeping with her just because it used to technically be legal. He knew damn well he *shouldn't* be doing that regardless what the actual rule said.

Ridiculous analogy. You haven't had your morning coffee yet, have you?

[omerome]

Yes, but now with one hand you want to help small market teams while punishing them with the other. What good is the revenue sharing if you are just going to take that money back as punishment for being bad?

It would be like the competitive balance picks in baseball except the day after they are awarded, they are taken away as punishment for sucking.

The teams that choose to spend money and even go over the cap are punished by means of the luxury tax. Then that money is funneled around the league via revenue sharing. At least many of those teams are trying to win.

A team like the Sixers are putting together barebone rosters with the expectation of having losing seasons and they should be rewarded for it? What value are they bringing?

If they just were a bad team that tried to win that's different, but that's clearly not the case here.

[76ciology]

I say leave the lottery as is. For i'm sure if they change the lottery, there will always be some loophole to go around it again. Just for example with the Sixers in 2016, the new system will just give them a chance to get a no.1 team even with a stacked team.

Leave the lottery as is. It's the way it's always been. We've seen small market teams like the OKC, Spurs and the Cavs became contenders. Hell, even the Timberwolves was able to land a franchise player with Love.

Long term the old system is tried and tested that is going to be favoring less talented teams. Don't make it harder for poor managed team or small market teams to improve by not giving them a slight advantage to land the no.1 pick.

And for the Sixers. New system or not. Hinkie is still not going to overpay these mediocre guys and just going to continue getting the best players possible while maintaining flexibility. Because that's the fastest way to rebuild while giving you the best possible chance to succeed.

[Prokorov]

The Philadelphia 76ers will fight changes to the draft lottery system that the NBA is pushing to implement in time for next season.

Though there are several facets and the proposals haven't been finalized, essentially the goal of commissioner Adam Silver is to balance out the lottery odds so the worst team or teams wouldn't have the highest chances of landing the top pick, sources said.

The 76ers are in a multiseason rebuilding project that is depending on a high pick next season.

this is a great move by silver. Its the worst thign a team can do longterm. its so shortsighted... its like throwing your money away at a high stakes low odds casino game. you see that huge prize, but dont realize how much the odds are stacked against you.

even if you get the #1 pick there has to be that great prospect, he has to stay healthy, he has to develop, he has to not bust. and even then you need to build around him super quick or else he is likely to bounce in free agency.

Not to mention, all that tanking and roster with no veterans leads to tons of ego, bad habits, me first, losing atmosphere, etc. it is REALLY hard to get that losing stench off of a team or turn around ball jacking and bad habits.

the sixers should be in support of this... they can actually bring in vets, push their young guys to be winners, and still have odds to get the #1 pick

[BullyKing]

Never gonna happen, but I like the idea of fining the bottom five owners. It means owners will push winning from the top and it will trickle down to the GM and players. Will make for a more competitive league.

Except the teams most likely to be at the bottom are the small market teams that can't afford or attract the big free agents. So you are going to financially penalize the teams that can least afford to pay it. Yep, that will solve everything.

Bottom 4 were Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Utah. LA and Philly are top 5 in the country in population.

Last I checked, the bottom four records were Milwaukee, Philly, Orlando, and Utah. Philly was there on purpose and LA being there is pretty much an anomaly (I believe this was their highest draft pick since Worthy).

[76ciology]

The Philadelphia 76ers will fight changes to the draft lottery system that the NBA is pushing to implement in time for next season.

Though there are several facets and the proposals haven't been finalized, essentially the goal of commissioner Adam Silver is to balance out the lottery odds so the worst team or teams wouldn't have the highest chances of landing the top pick, sources said.

The 76ers are in a multiseason rebuilding project that is depending on a high pick next season.

this is a great move by silver. Its the worst thign a team can do longterm. its so shortsighted... its like throwing your money away at a high stakes low odds casino game. you see that huge prize, but dont realize how much the odds are stacked against you.

even if you get the #1 pick there has to be that great prospect, he has to stay healthy, he has to develop, he has to not bust. and even then you need to build around him super quick or else he is likely to bounce in free agency.

Not to mention, all that tanking and roster with no veterans leads to tons of ego, bad habits, me first, losing atmosphere, etc. it is REALLY hard to get that losing stench off of a team or turn around ball jacking and bad habits.

the sixers should be in support of this... they can actually bring in vets, push their young guys to be winners, and still have odds to get the #1 pick

Agree with this. The more I think about it, this move will just be beneficial for the Sixers in the long run. Specially in 2016. But for the league, I can understand the opposition for this because it will lead to more tankings. It won't just be the bottom dwellers who would be tanking, the in between teams would also be tanking if they knew they aren't going to make the play-offs.

[BullyKing]

Yes, but now with one hand you want to help small market teams while punishing them with the other. What good is the revenue sharing if you are just going to take that money back as punishment for being bad?

It would be like the competitive balance picks in baseball except the day after they are awarded, they are taken away as punishment for sucking.

The teams that choose to spend money and even go over the cap are punished by means of the luxury tax. Then that money is funneled around the league via revenue sharing. At least many of those teams are trying to win.

A team like the Sixers are putting together barebone rosters with the expectation of having losing seasons and they should be rewarded for it? What value are they bringing?

If they just were a bad team that tried to win that's different, but that's clearly not the case here.

It's really not that complicated. The value the Sixers are bringing is hopefully revitalizing what used to be an amazing basketball market in the next couple years. Sixers have been moribund in Philly and elsewhere for almost a decade. If you want the Philly market to be back and contributing to the NBA overall but without tanking, then provide another avenue.

Also, please explain what this means: "If they just were a bad team that tried to win that's different." In what way is it different in terms of the value they bring to the NBA? You're suggesting that if they were the Bucks and lost a ton of games through incompetence rather than plan, that would sell more tickets?

[Chicago-Bull-E]

Except the teams most likely to be at the bottom are the small market teams that can't afford or attract the big free agents. So you are going to financially penalize the teams that can least afford to pay it. Yep, that will solve everything.

Bottom 4 were Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Utah. LA and Philly are top 5 in the country in population.

Last I checked, the bottom four records were Milwaukee, Philly, Orlando, and Utah. Philly was there on purpose and LA being there is pretty much an anomaly (I believe this was their highest draft pick since Worthy).

Youre right, I just took the bottom two teams in each conference. So out of those four, who has had the most success in the last decade? Who the least? Philly has been awful for a while. Orlando and Utah have had more success.

This can go on and on. Plenty of small market teams at the top, and plenty of large market teams at the bottom.

[BullyKing]

The Philadelphia 76ers will fight changes to the draft lottery system that the NBA is pushing to implement in time for next season.

Though there are several facets and the proposals haven't been finalized, essentially the goal of commissioner Adam Silver is to balance out the lottery odds so the worst team or teams wouldn't have the highest chances of landing the top pick, sources said.

The 76ers are in a multiseason rebuilding project that is depending on a high pick next season.

Not to mention, all that tanking and roster with no veterans leads to tons of ego, bad habits, me first, losing atmosphere, etc. it is REALLY hard to get that losing stench off of a team or turn around ball jacking and bad habits.

Yep, when I think of Kevin Durant and Tim Duncan, the first things that come to mind are "tons of ego, bad habits, me first, losing atmosphere."

[MiltownHawkeye]

Also, it's not like it's too late for the Sixers to be competitive. They're sitting on like $24 million in cap space. Go sign Eric Bledsoe and Shawn Marion. Make an offer for Greg Monroe. These are impact players that could help you THIS year. Monroe may seem unnecessary, but with the injury concerns to both Nerlins and Embid, he makes for a really nice insurance policy and they can take their time with those guys. We already know Embid won't play this year. Have a 3 big rotation in the 2015-16 season and if Nerlins and Embid both seem ready to go, trade Monroe who will only have 2 years left in the off season for a stud impact wing.

That's a brilliant strategy. Let's lock ourselves into a multiple year deal with guys like Bledsoe or Monroe and limit our flexibility so that when a guy like Durant comes on the market we won't have the space to make an offer. Signing a guy like Marion does absolutely nothing to move this team forward. Signing the other two guys hurts you long-term.

Why would Durant go anywhere near the Sixers anyway?

[BullyKing]

Bottom 4 were Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Utah. LA and Philly are top 5 in the country in population.

Last I checked, the bottom four records were Milwaukee, Philly, Orlando, and Utah. Philly was there on purpose and LA being there is pretty much an anomaly (I believe this was their highest draft pick since Worthy).

Youre right, I just took the bottom two teams in each conference. So out of those four, who has had the most success in the last decade? Who the least? Philly has been awful for a while. Orlando and Utah have had more success.

This can go on and on. Plenty of small market teams at the top, and plenty of large market teams at the bottom.

Yeah, I mean certainly not every bad team will be a small market or every good team will be from a large market. I'm just saying that I think taxing the bad teams for being bad will disproportionately impact small market teams. If the issue people are concerned about is endemic losing, then we should be discussing things like (1) not allowing one team to get the number one pick more than once in a three year span; (2) not allowing a team to have a top-3 pick in three consecutive; or (3) other things along these lines. I mean I think there can be reasonable solutions that improve the league. But just going in rashly to punish a team because you don't agree with their rebuild approach (though most seem to recognize its really the only available option) seems short-sighted to me.

I mean let's move away from the Sixers to a non-controversial team like Bucks who (1) are a small-market team; (2) completely and utterly sucked last year despite trying to make the playoffs; and (3) because of the lack of their appeal are forced to give big contracts to free-agents like Mayo. If I'm a Bucks fan, I'm furious about this kind of change. Why are you making it harder for us - as the worst team in the league - to get the best draftable talent? Dispersing the best incoming players to the worst teams is the whole point of a draft.

[Snotbubbles]

Also, it's not like it's too late for the Sixers to be competitive. They're sitting on like $24 million in cap space. Go sign Eric Bledsoe and Shawn Marion. Make an offer for Greg Monroe. These are impact players that could help you THIS year. Monroe may seem unnecessary, but with the injury concerns to both Nerlins and Embid, he makes for a really nice insurance policy and they can take their time with those guys. We already know Embid won't play this year. Have a 3 big rotation in the 2015-16 season and if Nerlins and Embid both seem ready to go, trade Monroe who will only have 2 years left in the off season for a stud impact wing.

That's a brilliant strategy. Let's lock ourselves into a multiple year deal with guys like Bledsoe or Monroe and limit our flexibility so that when a guy like Durant comes on the market we won't have the space to make an offer. Signing a guy like Marion does absolutely nothing to move this team forward. Signing the other two guys hurts you long-term.

Why would Durant go anywhere near the Sixers anyway?

I won't attempt to forecast two years in the future. Professional sports years are like dog years. A lot can happen in that time. But Philly is a top 5 market. Located ideally near New York, Atlantic City and DC. Assuming some of their players pan out, they could have a seriously good young team going into the 2016 season and they'll have the cap space to sign him. At that point the question wouldn't be why, but why not.