Help me explain to my 7 year old Kid why NBA rewards Losing with Draft Picks

asero · Post #1 » by **asero** » Mon Apr 19, 2021 4:38 am

He tells me this is against the value of rewarding good performance and punishing bad performance. I told him it for the parity of the league but he argued that there is no such thing as parity in the classroom. Those students that gets a E grade should not be receiving extra bonus merits just to pass the semester.

kg01 · Post #2 » by **kg01** » Mon Apr 19, 2021 4:42 am

Don't the NFL and MLB do the same thing? Why do people act like this is some NBA-specific thing they're getting wrong?

Hello Brooklyn · Post #3 » by **Hello Brooklyn** » Mon Apr 19, 2021 4:42 am

The NBA has a vested interest into making sure its bad teams get better. This isn't the free market.

The NBA wants to succeed at some point in all its markets.

sikma42 · Post #4 » by **sikma42** » Mon Apr 19, 2021 4:44 am

you set an unrealistic premise. that's not how the world works, many other forces at play., obviously.

Post #5 » by **SOUL** » Mon Apr 19, 2021 4:45 am

kg01 wrote:Don't the NFL and MLB do the same thing? Why do people act like this is some NBA-specific thing they're getting wrong?

And wherever they end up, that's where they pick. There's no deterrent like in the NBA where even 10-14 can get the #1 pick if they get that lucky.

I think some fans just want soccer where we can relegate teams for being bad or something. Tanking sucks but it will always exist.

Dr Aki · Post #6 » by **Dr Aki** » Mon Apr 19, 2021 4:47 am

Communism

jredsaz · Post #7 » by **jredsaz** » Mon Apr 19, 2021 4:48 am

Dr Aki wrote:Communism

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rpa · Post #8 » by **rpa** » Mon Apr 19, 2021 4:48 am

Teams that lose are typically low in talent. The draft distributes talent to the teams that need it most.

jredsaz · Post #9 » by **jredsaz** » Mon Apr 19, 2021 4:50 am

asero wrote:He tells me this is against the value of rewarding good performance and punishing bad performance. I told him it for the parity of the league but he argued that there is no such thing as parity in the classroom. Those students that gets a E grade should not be receiving extra bonus merits just to pass the semester.

Come on, buddy. Youre just trolling. And your seven year old didn't make that argument.

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asero · Post #10 » by **asero** » Mon Apr 19, 2021 4:50 am

rpa wrote:Teams that lose are typically low in talent. The draft distributes talent to the teams that need it most.

But this is different from the values we teach our students

rpa · Post #11 » by **rpa** » Mon Apr 19, 2021 4:55 am

asero wrote:
rpa wrote:Teams that lose are typically low in talent. The draft distributes talent to the teams that need it most.

But this is different from the values we teach our students

Schools don't teach compassion anymore?

Biff · Post #12 » by **Biff** » Mon Apr 19, 2021 4:59 am

Because the NBA understand something the rest of America doesn't: helping people succeed is good for the long-term success of any human endeavor. If the NBA ran their league like many in these country think, they'd give #1 picks to the Champions and tell the last place team to start pulling on those bootstraps.

Egg Nog · Post #13 » by **Egg Nog** » Mon Apr 19, 2021 5:03 am

Here we go again. Gotta love these guys.

When a terrible team loses to a great team, it's always because "they didn't want to win badly enough" and thus should be punished for this lack of desire.

In other news, people with cancer get more medical attention than healthy people even though healthy people are less of a burden on the system. Unfair!!! Take that money and get personal trainers for people who are already healthy!

ThereAre4Lights · Post #14 » by **ThereAre4Lights** » Mon Apr 19, 2021 5:05 am

Students are not playing a competitive game with a shared goal. What's good or bad for one student doesn't directly impact another. NBA teams are competing with each other under a shared goal: to continue the league and promote a good product.

There is no grade sharing for classmates. Parents won't stop watching their children because another student has been getting straight A's for 3 years.

JimmyPlopper · Post #15 » by **JimmyPlopper** » Mon Apr 19, 2021 5:12 am

ThereAre4Lights wrote:Parents won't stop watching their children because another student has been getting straight A's for 3 years

speak for yourself. sometimes you have to know when to abandon ship

nytonm · Post #16 » by **nytonm** » Mon Apr 19, 2021 5:12 am

The league is about making money and parity is more profitable. Parity ensures that you have engaged fanbases all across the country buying tickets and watching local broadcasts.

Sedale Threatt · Post #17 » by **Sedale Threatt** » Mon Apr 19, 2021 5:14 am

JimmyPlopper wrote:
ThereAre4Lights wrote:Parents won't stop watching their children because another student has been getting straight A's for 3 years

speak for yourself. sometimes you have to know when to abandon ship

I lol'd

preldzic · Post #18 » by **preldzic** » Mon Apr 19, 2021 5:18 am

Your 7-year old has a point. However, I distinguish between three kinds of losing.
(1) losing because the team doesn't have enough talent
(2) losing because the team is missing the best player(s) due to injuries
(3) losing because the team has traded away all talent, is purposely losing games, is tanking

The (3) are usually the teams with the worst 5 record, and they have the highest chances of drafting the best players. Think OKC this year. In this case, losing is rewarded.

The (2) are good teams who, after their best players come back, would be still good and don't need to get a top 5 talent in the draft to be competitive. Think the Spurs in 1997 before drafting Duncan, GSW last season before drafting Wiseman. In this case, disparity is not fixed.

The (1) are the teams that deserve to get the most talent, especially if they try to compete.

I don't think there is a better solution than all 14 lottery teams having equal probabilities in the draft of getting 1-14 picks. What the league has done already by fixing odds was good, but it should be just a good start.

And this is only one of many problems. Big markets vs small markets, buyouts with contenders getting even more talent, and demanding trades to a preferred team, are often much bigger issues on the way to some form of parity.

Post #19 » by **Doctor MJ** » Mon Apr 19, 2021 5:20 am

asero wrote:He tells me this is against the value of rewarding good performance and punishing bad performance. I told him it for the parity of the league but he argued that there is no such thing as parity in the classroom. Those students that gets a E grade should not be receiving extra bonus merits just to pass the semester.

The NBA is not a classroom. The goal is not to educate these franchises, the goal is to maximize total revenue, and use of a draft to foster parity is intended to facilitate as many functional NBA franchises as possible.

monopoman · Post #20 » by **monopoman** » Mon Apr 19, 2021 5:21 am

In the NFL the worst team automatically gets the #1 pick.

If the best teams got the best picks they would perpetually be the best teams. Imagine the championship team getting the #1 pick in this draft, well that is a nice young player they can develop a bit and then if he turns out great that is a huge addition.

I also think it's partly done to get more playtime to top picks, if the Nets win the championship hypothetically and they get the #1 pick he would not be a starter probably, he would be at best a 6th man type of thing in his rookie season.