The NBA’s lottery system has recently come under fire thanks to the machinations of the Philadelphia 76ers, but the controversial system isn’t likely to change until the next CBA negotiations between the league and its players.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver unveiled a proposal last year that was designed to “find the right balance,” but the owners failed to pass the proposal by the necessary two-thirds majority in October. This was despite the fact that most owners have been upset with how Philly has used the system poorly as a way of attempting to rebuild a broken franchise (how’s that working out?).
As undesirable as Philadelphia’s maneuvers have been, the owners don’t appear overly motivated to make a change until the new CBA is on the table, according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe.
“There has been almost no buzz about lottery reform since, and league officials have said there likely won’t be until the next session of collective bargaining in 2016 or 2017.”
Thanks to Philadelphia’s record-setting losing streak, it’s not likely we’ll see many teams tank so obviously to attempt landing top picks the next couple of seasons. That said, the system is clearly not as optimal as it should be and needs to be revisited when the CBA does come back around.