Adam Silver: NBA has to focus on tanking

[EvanZ]

What's the penalty? You give teams more wins?

[Monky15]

I don't see what other option the Sixers really had apart from tanking, they had high lotto pick(s) that didn't turn out to be stars, failed on the Bynum trade and Holiday is only a borderline All Star ie 3rd best player on a contending team. The odds of them picking up 2 Star players to lift them above the rest of the pack is surely lower than the odds of finishing anywhere in the lottery and having a crack at the top picks.

As a team they had run out of ways to make significant improvements. If your not building then your re - building and like a band aid you might as well get it over with asap. Just keep some decent veterans around to show the young guys how to carry themselves.

I reckon the real trouble with tanking is getting young guys who are knuckleheads or have egos that don't buy into the franchise. To address this I reckon its important to have a leader in the locker room who can contribute as much on the court as the troubling young guy.

[Neutral 123]

simple...no team can draft a top 5 pick two years in a row...

How about a team can't sign more than one top 5 pick in free agency?

[og15]

The only way to discourage it more is make teams 1-14 who missed out on the playoffs at the same odd/lottery %, but then you'd have a team not want to make the playoffs. That would be the only issue.

Make it a random amount of loterry teams each year having an equal chance at the #1 pick, so in a given year it could be all 14 teams having the same chance or it could be the worst team having a better chance than everyone else, or it could be the top 3 teams having the same chance.

The amount of teams is determined afer the playoffs. 1 team maintains the same system. 2 teams would give #1 and #2 the same chance and higher than everyone else, 14 teams would give each of them a 1/14 chance, etc etc.

It's not totally removing the problem, but it takes away the incentive to absolutely tank.

[londoncollin]

The way to "fix" tanking is by making the middle a more appealing position. Basically the only reward in the NBA is being the best or being the worst. So if a team can't realistically be the best it makes zero sense to try to be the eighth seed.


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[ATTL]

They should enact a "large market lottery" giving teams in the bigger markets the first chance at winning the lottery. This would make the league more successful and healthier in the long run.

[og15]

The way to "fix" tanking is by making the middle a more appealing position. Basically the only reward in the NBA is being the best or being the worst. So if a team can't realistically be the best it makes zero sense to try to be the eighth seed.


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You're thinking incentives for making the playoffs, hmm...

Maybe a team that gets the 7-8th seed with 50 wins or less (for those weird seasons) multiple years in a row automatically gets a top 5 pick. Of course when you start adding things like that it makes things more complicated. But if it is multiple years, then no one is planning to tank their playoff position 3 seasons in a row to get a top 5 pick.

[londoncollin]

The way to "fix" tanking is by making the middle a more appealing position. Basically the only reward in the NBA is being the best or being the worst. So if a team can't realistically be the best it makes zero sense to try to be the eighth seed.


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You're thinking incentives for making the playoffs, hmm...

Maybe a team that gets the 7-8th seed with 50 wins or less (for those weird seasons) multiple years in a row automatically gets a top 5 pick. Of course when you start adding things like that it makes things more complicated. But if it is multiple years, then no one is planning to tank their playoff position 3 seasons in a row to get a top 5 pick.

Not necessarily incentives. But making the playoffs more competitive, so that the seventh seed has a chance to actually go all the way.

The best way to do that is by shortening the number of games in the series. Which I doubt will ever happen.


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[og15]

Yea, that one isn't happening.

The other thing they could do it have a two losses and out week long tournament among the bottom teams that determines something, related to draft picks maybe. It's a win-win for the NBA, still makes them money and there's some incentive to not be a massively sucky lottery team.

It's also exciting for the fans

[Neutral 123]

The way to "fix" tanking is by making the middle a more appealing position. Basically the only reward in the NBA is being the best or being the worst. So if a team can't realistically be the best it makes zero sense to try to be the eighth seed.


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Well even that depends. Are you a playoff team, do fans believe the team still has upside, is the team exciting to watch? How much are you paying out in salaries?

[basketball royalty]

Really hope he does.

Of course a heat fan would say that...

I'm a Raptors fan and I hope he does too. It is a disgrace to sport and competition and it just wastes entire seasons at a time for the fans as well. You think a season ticket holder wants to pay thousands of dollars to watch a team that is fielding out crap in hopes they will lose?

[EddieJonesFan]

I'm failing to see the harm this has actually caused the league, it seems people are just increasingly whining about it because it offends their precious sensibilities.

Tanking is a reality of the draft being weighted to help the bad teams, so either change that and accept those consequences of that instead, or shut up about it and accept it's an inevitable consequence of the way the system is set up. There are no rewards for being middle of the pack.

Well, it impacts ticket sales, ratings, losses that big market teams usually cover, lack of profitiablity, etc.

There should be stiffer penalties on teams like the 2011 Bobcats or 2013 Sixers.

There is too much of a habit on that. Being in the middle is what 29 teams do yearly honestly. There isn't a championship for being runner up. 1 wins, everyone else tries.

I just don't buy into the " be a contender or tank it" logic. It should only apply to certain teams, not all situations like how it's become.

You're right, worse teams have less interest typically, but to me, all this is really saying is that the NBA doesn't care if these middle of the pack teams still lose or don't get that close to any real meaningful accomplishments during the season, just that they look better doing it and be more entertaining fodder for the real contenders in the league.

No, there doesn't. The Sixers have been genuinely fighting for the best results possible the last several years and it has earned them picks in the 10-20 range pretty consistently, re-booting their roster (which their upside most likely was a 2nd round exit in the playoffs) was the right move. It's not just about getting better draft picks, it's about giving up on a roster in which in its current trajectory will never actually reach the ultimately desired goal (championship.) Can teams suck at tanking? Yes, just like teams can suck at any other strategy. I see tanking as a refusal of a team to be stuck in the limbo the middle, with not enough upside to ever get to a championship. It's how to not be a chump IMO, because there aren't a lot of alternative methods for the teams with less natural advantages than teams like the Lakers. Is it the only way to do things? No, but it makes sense in certain situations.

Your definition of middle is ridiculous. There's a huge difference between teams that get close to the championship with the potential to get it the next year and a team that barely misses the playoffs or is just first round fodder with not much upward potential.

I don't see how it's being applied to all situations. Clearly if a team has been re-building, they have a core of young players that have championship upside and are continually improving, then if at one point they're a middle of the pack team, it's completely acceptable because their trajectory is towards being legit contenders.

[Neutral 123]

Really hope he does.

Of course a heat fan would say that...

I'm a Raptors fan and I hope he does too. It is a disgrace to sport and competition and it just wastes entire seasons at a time for the fans as well. You think a season ticket holder wants to pay thousands of dollars to watch a team that is fielding out crap in hopes they will lose?

In fairness, how many seasons have the Raptors wasted trying to win it all, and haven't made the playoffs for 5 years and counting?

[DWiz]

If a team is fielding a roster full of dleaguers and journeymen then that's too obvious, but if a team wants to horde left over cap space and wait for quality FA, then they should be allowed to do to do that

[eliasrapp98]

Really hope he does.

Of course a heat fan would say that...

I'm a Raptors fan and I hope he does too. It is a disgrace to sport and competition and it just wastes entire seasons at a time for the fans as well. You think a season ticket holder wants to pay thousands of dollars to watch a team that is fielding out crap in hopes they will lose?

But the whole reason you're tanking I so get good again. I'd rather suck for 3 years and then be contenders for 5 then be 8th seeds for 8 years.

[defhalotones]

People complain too much about tanking in the NBA. Just be glad there is a lottery in place. I couldn't fathom the amount of tanking without a lottery. NBA is the only league today at least trying to combat it. Although.... it can be more tricky tanking in the other leagues

[shrink]

The problem with the tanking issue is that the lottery is the NBA's major way to introduce parity into the league, and prop up franchises that may legitimately need the help. Basketball is like few sports, where a single player (on a 5-man team plying offense and defense) can make or break a franchise for years. These high value assets, need to go to the teams that truly need them, and short term tanking needs to be prevented from hampering this process.

But a lot of people can talk about the problem - I'd propose we discuss solutions.

============================================

I would advocate basing a team’s lottery position is based on a three-year average of their record. Perhaps weight it so this season x3 + last season x2 + season before that x1.

A three-year average solves one of lottery’s biggest problems. Superstars determine the success or failure of an NBA team. However, if that superstar gets injured, it can sink the team .. for just that season. Next year, the team probably still owns the rights to that superstar. Is it right that they get a good shot at adding another potential superstar in the draft? San Antonio is the perfect example — championships under David Robinson, one injured season allows them to win the lottery and draft Tim Duncan.

A three-year average makes tanking less important to a team’s draft record as well. Why tank and ruin the fan experience (and revenues) if it can’t change your team’s record from the previous two seasons? Three years of failure shows a legitimate need for future stars, and a three year average directs those players to the teams that truly need them most.

[mct]

The way to "fix" tanking is by making the middle a more appealing position. Basically the only reward in the NBA is being the best or being the worst. So if a team can't realistically be the best it makes zero sense to try to be the eighth seed.

One of the few posters in this thread who gets it. Ironically, the lottery just keeps the bad teams down.

It's probably true that championships are impossible without a superstar, but with a few veteran signings and a decent coach today's bottom feeders could actually be decent and fight for the playoffs.

The lottery doesn't increase parity. It's there to let fans believe that, when their team sucks, they are actually building towards a championship. It's insane!

Without the false hope at the bottom of the current lottery, maybe fans could appreciate incremental improvement and decent basketball.

[basketball royalty]

Of course a heat fan would say that...

I'm a Raptors fan and I hope he does too. It is a disgrace to sport and competition and it just wastes entire seasons at a time for the fans as well. You think a season ticket holder wants to pay thousands of dollars to watch a team that is fielding out crap in hopes they will lose?

In fairness, how many seasons have the Raptors wasted trying to win it all, and haven't made the playoffs for 5 years and counting?

I believe it is 6 years and counting and I don't think when they had Sonny Weems starting for them they were exactly trying to win it all.

I'm not saying you put yourself in a bad situation to win a couple more games but to blatantly tank and say trade away a young allstar like Jrue Holiday and dump a competitive coach which the 76ers did is disgraceful to the game and the teams fans. I certainly hope they don't get rewarded for doing something like that.

[crosko42]

Disclaimer: I'm probably not making any sense and this is probably a dumb idea.


Have a 5 year period that resets with every playoff appearance. During that 5 year span (of not making the playoffs)

Your first year in the bottom 5 you have a 20% chance of getting the #1 pick.

Your second year in the bottom 5 you have a 10% chance of getting the #1 pick.

Your third year you have a 5% chance of the #1 pick.

After that you have a 0% chance of either until either you make the playoffs or your 5 year time period resets.

Any remaining percentage chance for in any year for the #1 pick is evenly distributed to 6-14.

So lets take the Cavs for example, would have had a 20% chance at Irving, 10% chance at AD, 5% chance in this past draft. The next 2 seasons they have 0% chance to get the #1 pick unless they finish outside of the bottom 5 and there is a remaining percentage left after the bottom 5.