The National Basketball Association is entertaining new ideas for the draft to combat the problem of teams tanking (purposefully failing to compete for wins) to gain a greater chance at a high lottery pick.
If you haven’t heard this already, you may be late to the party… However, considering that nothing will likely happen with this information, tardiness is a relative concept.
The idea being entertained, as was first reported by Zach Lowe of Grantland and summarized here by our own Brett Poirier, centers around a wheel [pictured above] consisting of the 30 picks (representative of the 30 teams in the NBA). The numbers on the wheel are arranged according to complicated mathematical algorithms that allow for each team to have a fair shot at draft picks over a 30-year span.
[Brett Poirier: NBA Reportedly Pondering New Method for Draft “Lottery”]
With the holidays in full swing, the wheel story seems to have gone under the radar among NBA players on Twitter. However, the Christmas season has not kept the media from chiming in.
TNT NBA analyst and five-time NBA champion Steve Kerr was promoting the article to his followers.
The NBA’s Possible Solution for Tanking: Good-bye to the Lottery, Hello to the Wheel http://t.co/5PyI3zppAK
— Steve Kerr (@SteveKerrTNT) December 23, 2013
NBA.com Golden State Warriors writer, Geoff Lepper, had some interesting remarks about the wheel.
If leaking the wheel idea to @ZachLowe_NBA was a trial balloon for Silver & Co., here’s hoping it gets shot down in a hurry. — Geoff Lepper (@geofflepper) December 23, 2013
Thoughts on “the wheel” — when Milwaukee or Minnesota have the top pick, how many freshmen will opt to stay in school rather than declare? — Geoff Lepper (@geofflepper) December 23, 2013
How long until a less-desirable team is caught paying a couple million to a stud freshman to come out in their draft? — Geoff Lepper (@geofflepper) December 23, 2013
ESPN NBA Countdown co-host and Grantland editor-in-chief, Bill Simmons was not just helping to promote Lowe’s article, he gave one of the alternative suggestions mentioned in it his blessing.
On NBA Lottery: I vote for (A) a 16-team single elimination tournament for 8-seeds, and (B) ping-pong ball spots weighed by 3-year records. — Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) December 23, 2013
Zach Lowe adds his unique brand of sarcastic humor to the subject.
My proposal of an inflatable mascot dance competition to decide draft order did not get very far, by the way.
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) December 23, 2013
As Lowe suggests in his article, the odds of change happening any time soon are slim considering that 23 of the 30 NBA owners—and likely the players union as well—have to approve any new ideas before they’d become a reality.
Whether the wheel is the answer or not is certainly debatable, but the majority opinion seems to rest with the realization that the NBA Draft Lottery is a flawed system in need of change.What do you think is the answer to the NBA’s perceived tanking problem? Check an option in the poll and be sure to comment down below.
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Michael writes the Tweet of the Day for SheridanHoops.com and is also a correspondent for BleacherReport.com.
I hate the draft wheel.
The reason GM’s tank is because it works every now and then. At the same time you need to give small market teams and there fans a reason for hope.
If you really want to shake things up why not keep the draft as is but reduce/limit the amount of time any player can spend on the floor. How about an arbitrary time of 25 mins per game. That will change the game to be more about the team rather than about superstars. That will help the smaller markets compete. The problem is who wants to pay to see Reggie Evans (no offence) rack up mins all night.