Promotion/Relegation in the NBA

[rumdiary]

Does anyone think a system of promotion and relegation would be beneficial for the NBA? Football here in Europe benefits hugely from having every game matter as much as the last.

I get the feeling that the interests of wealthy team owners are against a promotion/relegation system, no billionaire owner would want to lose money languishing outside of the top division, but I think it would boost fan interest internationally and add revenue in the bigger picture etc. You could still even have playoffs at the end of the season too.

Also, if teams at the bottom of the second division rebuilt successfully you'd still get big attendances for rebuilding teams (think Portland or OKC).

I've tried to implement a promotion/relegation system in the fantasy league I'm starting (link), here's how my league operates:

36 Teams, 2 Divisions, 50 Games each season.

The top 8 teams in the Elite Division enter the playoffs and contend for the Championship. 1st place plays 8th place, 2nd place plays 7th place and so on, as described in the Elite Division Playoff Format thread.

Teams finishing from 12th to 15th position in the Elite Division will enter a four-team playoff bracket. 12th Place will play 15th Place and 13th Place will play 14th Place. The two losers will play each other. Whoever loses will be relegated.

Teams finishing from 16th to 18th position in the Elite Division will automatically be relegated.

Teams finishing from 1st to 3rd position in Division 2 will automatically be promoted.

Teams finishing from 4th to 7th position in Division 2 will enter a four-team playoff bracket. 4th Place will play 7th Place and 5th Place will play 6th Place. The two winners will play each other. Whoever wins will be promoted.

Teams finishing at the bottom of Division 2 will have the highest picks in the rookie draft.

Elite Division
1st Place - Playoffs - 36th Pick in Rookie Draft
2nd Place - Playoffs
3rd Place - Playoffs
4th Place - Playoffs
5th Place - Playoffs
6th Place - Playoffs
7th Place - Playoffs
8th Place - Playoffs
9th Place
10th Place
11th Place
12th Place - Relegation Playoffs (losing team is relegated) - 19th Pick in Rookie Draft
13th Place - Relegation Playoffs
14th Place - Relegation Playoffs
15th Place - Relegation Playoffs
16th Place - Relegated - 20th Pick in Rookie Draft
17th Place - Relegated - 21st Pick in Rookie Draft
18th Place - Relegated - 22nd Pick in Rookie Draft

Division 2
1st Place - Promoted - 15th Pick in Rookie Draft
2nd Place - Promoted - 16th Pick in Rookie Draft
3rd Place - Promoted - 17th Pick in Rookie Draft
4th Place - Promotion Playoffs (winning team is promoted) - 18th Pick in Rookie Draft
5th Place - Promotion Playoffs
6th Place - Promotion Playoffs
7th Place - Promotion Playoffs
8th Place - 11th Pick in Rookie Draft.
9th Place
10th Place
11th Place
12th Place
13th Place
14th Place
15th Place - etc.
16th Place - 3rd Pick in Rookie Draft.
17th Place - 2nd Pick in Rookie Draft.
18th Place - 1st Pick in Rookie Draft.

Just interested in hearing some opinions.

[Dtown84]

I'd be against it, for a few reasons.

One teams in the NBA can get good fast. Imagine if the Celtics had been stuck in the second division in '07-'08. They were certainly bad enough to be relegated in 2007.

Two additional expansion just waters down the league more. Some say we should be contracting teams, I can't see the NBA adding 6 more at the moment.

The problem of maintaining fanbases once a team is relegated. Imagine the Nets attendance this year if they never got to play the Cavs, Lakers, or any other teams to bring in the casual fans.

I do wish we could adopt some things of this though, shorter regular season, fewer teams in the playoffs among them.

[rumdiary]

One teams in the NBA can get good fast. Imagine if the Celtics had been stuck in the second division in '07-'08. They were certainly bad enough to be relegated in 2007.

Aren't teams always better when they're built over a longer period of time though? And built for long-term success like the Lakers/Celtics of the 80s or the Bulls of the 90s? I always feel a team has more character when it builds from scratch and becomes great, like Portland and Oklahoma are doing right now.

Two additional expansion just waters down the league more. Some say we should be contracting teams, I can't see the NBA adding 6 more at the moment.

I'm kinda the opposite on this point of view I think it would allow more stars to emerge and prove themselves.

The problem of maintaining fanbases once a team is relegated. Imagine the Nets attendance this year if they never got to play the Cavs, Lakers, or any other teams to bring in the casual fans.

Certainly that would be true if the Nets were only playing for a draft pick, like they obviously were. But if the Nets were playing to avoid relegation surely that'd be more entertaining.

[garrick]

It would never happen because owners in the NBA like Sterling would lose too much money, the NBA is all about making money not necessarily making the game of basketball better.

[5DOM]

Will never work under current rules.

1. Big football clubs (usually from big markets) almost always avoid relegation because they can simply spend more money than others. NBA teams can't, and therefore teams like the Knicks have just as good chance of being relegated as other small city teams, which would be terrible for the league.

2. Getting quality players and actually making $ will be extremely difficult for the relegated teams. Will they even be able to draft players? What NBA-level players will sign with them?

3. Promoted teams will not be good enough to compete.

And really, basketball in North America is just not as big as football in Europe.

[King of Troy]

Will never work under current rules.

1. Big football clubs (usually from big markets) almost always avoid relegation because they can simply spend more money than others. NBA teams can't, and therefore teams like the Knicks have just as good chance of being relegated as other small city teams, which would be terrible for the league.

2. Getting quality players and actually making $ will be extremely difficult for the relegated teams. Will they even be able to draft players? What NBA-level players will sign with them?

3. Promoted teams will not be good enough to compete.

And really, basketball in North America is just not as big as football in Europe.

1 is true.

2 is partially true, depends on the financial situtation.

3 is not true. Look at the EPL. There are teams that get promoted that end up mid-table. Its more about the level of the team rather than the level of the players on it, how well they play together and such. Look at the Bucks. They were figured to be crap, but they played so well as a team that the were able to play well. So, its not always about the "talent" level.

[5DOM]

Will never work under current rules.

1. Big football clubs (usually from big markets) almost always avoid relegation because they can simply spend more money than others. NBA teams can't, and therefore teams like the Knicks have just as good chance of being relegated as other small city teams, which would be terrible for the league.

2. Getting quality players and actually making $ will be extremely difficult for the relegated teams. Will they even be able to draft players? What NBA-level players will sign with them?

3. Promoted teams will not be good enough to compete.

And really, basketball in North America is just not as big as football in Europe.

1 is true.

2 is partially true, depends on the financial situtation.

3 is not true. Look at the EPL. There are teams that get promoted that end up mid-table. Its more about the level of the team rather than the level of the players on it, how well they play together and such. Look at the Bucks. They were figured to be crap, but they played so well as a team that the were able to play well. So, its not always about the "talent" level.

i reckon with no expansion draft, the nbdl team will fail miserably in its first year in the league. the dropoff in talent from a bottom 10 EPL team to a top 3 Championship team is not as big as from NBA to NBDL

[britblazerdude]

The relegated teams would not make any money at all. It's not like Europe where the Championship/Serie B/Ligue/etc. teams still get good attendance rates.

[sp6r=underrated]

If you are going to add in promotion/regulation.

You should get get rid of:

1. Revenue Sharing
2. Draft
3. Restricted Free Agency
4. Minimum salaries
5. Salary Cap

You should also allow teams to move where ever they want.

[rumdiary]

If you are going to add in promotion/regulation.

You should get get rid of:

1. Revenue Sharing
2. Draft
3. Restricted Free Agency
4. Minimum salaries
5. Salary Cap

You should also allow teams to move where ever they want.

Any reason why those 5? I would've thought Revenue Sharing and Salary Cap atleast would add a greater parity between divisions - especially if there's only 2 of them!