NBA Draft lottery reform voted down over small market team’s concerns
The NBA Draft Lottery will remain the same as it has been since 1990. The worst team will still have a 25% chance of picking first the next season. The reform was considered a done deal just a few days ago.
13 teams voted no to a new proposition that would cut the worst team’s chances of getting the first first pick in half, from 25% to 12%.
The fifth worst team would have an 11.5% chance, and sixth worse would have a ten percent chance. That means that six teams would have a shot at the number one overall pick instead of only the three worst teams that currently do.
This was proposed by the league to stop the tanking that is plaguing the NBA lately as game-changing talents enter the draft every year.
As of now, the worst team has a 25% chance of getting the first overall pick, and can fall no lower than fourth. Under the new proposal, the worst team’s odds would be cut in half, and they could fall as far as seventh in the draft.
Obviously, this did not sit well with some teams. Some small markets are worried that a large market team that didn’t miss the playoffs by much could land a future superstar in the draft, then use their extra money to sign high-priced free agents and leave the small market teams struggling to improve in the dust.
While I can understand the concern for the risks involved, something needs to be done. The tanking that is currently being done by the Philadelphia 76’ers is common, and is accepted as a legitimate business practice. That is an embarrassment to your product.
The lottery is a great idea, and I wish more sports would consider doing that. Tanking does go on in the NFL as well, and I have always thought that a weighted lottery system would improve the overall game.
As the NBA has proven, that is not a sure thing.
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