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NBA draft lottery reforms to discourage tanking falls short of passing
- Thread starter XiaNaphryz
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darkside31337
Tomodachi wa Mahou
Its a lottery. It works.
Don't think any reform works at all from teams trying to suck as much as possible while still remaining fair. The only possible type of reform that could matter is one that makes an impact in the owners wallets - force the shittiest teams to have the lowest ticket prices in the league. You'll see teams start going for putting out a respectable product instead of trying to be the 76ers.
I do think the system works well enough as it is. You can choose to suck for half a decade intentionally and get nothing out of it and still suck for another 5 years.
And that would help smaller market teams with less money how?
That just seems like the soccer model, which is the worst in terms of parity
darkside31337
Tomodachi wa Mahou
I would be behind this too. Make all players UFAs coming out of school.
Every player counts against the cap (obviously would have to be increased to account for this) - there is no real cap in soccer. Small market teams can go ahead and offer the max or whatever to a guy who hasnt played a minute in the league (that would be insanity but some teams would do it and it'd be great for entertainment alone). It'd actually give them a better shot at landing talent over the large market teams.
crazygambit
Member
Pretty much. I'm very surprised that a country with such a capitalist mindset as America can be so socialist minded when it comes to sports.
In other sports the every team spends however money they think it's appropriate in order to maximize their profits. Losers not only don't get rewarded, but they get kicked out to inferior categories (and good teams on those lower ranks get promoted). No one ever has an incentive to tank.
TangoAlphaLima
Member
Stop and think about what you're saying for a minute. America's sport system makes sure that every team in every league retains value from year to year. The Euro soccer system does not, as clubs can fail to make the Champions League/Euro League or can even be relegated from their own domestic top tier. The American system ensures value for all the billionaires who own teams. That's smart capitalism. A closed system where only certain entrants are allowed and no one ever has to leave.
As far as rewarding the worst teams, it makes sense from the standpoint that the American sports leagues want the fan bases for every franchise to be engaged from time to time. Having an absolute doormat franchise without the Euro relegation system does not encourage viewership of the sports league.
Not to mention, drafted players are only controlled for so long. Once they hit free agency, they can choose where they'd like to play.
I hardly think being in the lottery is a reward for playing bad. There are too many consequences for sitting at the bottom of the table from reduced revenue to player retention and acquisition problems. The lottery pick is a tool for helping teams get out of that vicious cycle.
Huh? Toronto played pretty well last year. If you're in the Eastern Conference and you arent the Celtics/76ers/Magic/Bucks or something the playoffs are up for grabs
darkazcura
Member
No there aren't. Don't believe everything you hear on ESPN.
Uhhh. The Celtics and Magic can max out into the playoffs this year depending on the development of their systems. The Bucks probably need a year under Kidd before they can start making progress so they probably won't make it. Philly isn't even trying. Just like Phoenix, Portland, and Charlotte last year, it's silly to write off any team until the season is actually played. I guess that speaks more to my annoyance with preseason predictions anyway. No one knows the real dark horses, and there are always surprises. The Celtics and Magic have an extremely large range. I wouldn't be surprised if they finish with 25-27 wins or 41-45 wins.
Honestly the one thing I want the NBA to absolutely change is limit consecutive top 3 picks. There, simple. No one will accuse teams of tanking in a system like that especially when I think tanking is such a small issue anyway with usually only one or two teams tanking per year. It's an exaggerated problem and giving the worst team a 25 percent chance at the first pick, as the lottery stands today, is enough to stop tanking on a league wide basis. Once you stop consecutive top 3 picks year to year, no team will even care to tank more than one year in a row.
AbortedWalrusFetus
Member
Guys feel free to reform it next year. It'll all be cool then.
The irony is that in a few years when philly is a monster team, they'll be all for reform, especially because they're not a small market team
The idea that only 30 players can get a max deal would absolutely not fly with the NBAPA.
Think about the NFL though; where they aren't allowed to choose where they'd like to play (Franchise Tag). Hell, even when they come out of college, could you imagine if when you graduated college, all of the companies that employ your skill set getting together to arbritrarily set your starting salary for five years, regardless of how skilled you are (or that you would be paid 4x more in a free market)?
The more socialist / communist the sports league is, the more the american people like it. (MLB < NHL < NBA < NFL). The irony to me has always been faaaaaaaaaaantastic.
It doesn't qualify as capitalism because it is specifically exempt from the laws that govern capitalism (namely anti-trust and collusion). It's the exact opposite of capitalism. yep. someone like Kawhi Leonard would have been a bench player at best if Spurs didn't trade for him.
There's not many LeBron's in this world. He could have been drafted by any team and would still have the same career. For most players it comes down to coaching and the right organization.
It's not like small market teams are huge successes now. At least this way some can sign players for cheap and develop them into players and/or trade chips.
shira
Member
I just watch the dunk highlights now. Go Toronto.
Except the Raptors are actually a good team now.
You would know that if you watched their games.
TangoAlphaLima
Member
Think about the NFL though; where they aren't allowed to choose where they'd like to play (Franchise Tag). Hell, even when they come out of college, could you imagine if when you graduated college, all of the companies that employ your skill set getting together to arbritrarily set your starting salary for five years, regardless of how skilled you are (or that you would be paid 4x more in a free market)?
The more socialist / communist the sports league is, the more the american people like it. (MLB < NHL < NBA < NFL). The irony to me has always been faaaaaaaaaaantastic.
Franchise tagged players make the average of the Top 5 at their position, and they make more if the tag is used a second time, and it can't even be used a third time.
Also, wages are set because there is a players union. If the wages were unfair, the union wouldn't agree to the collective bargaining deal with the league. But since most leagues split revenues 50-50 with the players, and players are making crazy money these days, nobody is gonna complain.
Why do you think those players would be cheap? What would stop the lakers from signing the top 15 prospects in thay scenario?
Caddywompus
Member
Introducing more luck into the lottery just sounds like a bad idea. The only reason this is being brought up now because of the Cavs "luck" and not to prevent bad teams from being bad.
Making it more difficult to build through the draft won't help the league.
Making it more difficult to build through the draft won't help the league.
You'd be signing 18 year olds, or younger, who aren't NBA ready. Only a few hyped "can't miss" prospects would really command top dollar.
Nothing would stop the Lakers but if you are one of those 15 prospects, it would be a much tougher path to break into the NBA with the Lakers if you are competing with the current Lakers roster and 14 other top prospects for a spot.
Ninja Scooter
Member
In a perfect world, the college system would disappear because, well, it's a bunch of bullshit and instead teams would have actual developmental academies and minor league teams and would be able to sign players at 16 and develop them themselves.
This is bullshit.
Compare New York, LA, Chicago, Philly, and Dallas (Top 5 markets in NBA) to Milwaukee, San Antonio, OKC, Memphis, and New Orleans (Smallest 5 markets).
The smallest 5 have been slightly more successful over the last few years than the top 5.
That said, there is no such thing as a "small market" NBA team.
There are 210 television markets in the US. Of the NBA's 29 franchises, 22 are in the top 25 markets, and the most small market team, New Orleans, is #52 out of 210.
Look at the Heat(#16), Nuggets (#17), Spurs (#37), Thunder(#45), Trail Blazers (#22), Pacers (#27), and Grizzlies (#48). These are all smaller markets than Detroit (#11) and Minneapolis-St. Paul (#15), but have had much more success recently than the Pistons and Timberwolves. And the Wizards (#9 market), Sixers (#4 market) and Warriors (#6 market) were all terrible a few years ago. The Cavs (#18) are going to be great this year.
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