With a boatload of teams not hiding their plans to tank their way to a top pick in June’s NBA Draft, new reports have revealed how the NBA may change its lottery rules to avoid a similar tank battle in 2027 and beyond.
The part of the year after the NBA trade deadline and All-Star break, kicking off white flag season, is nothing new. At this point, the teams at the bottom of the standings are aware their campaign is lost, and they pivot to getting more ping pong balls in May for the draft lottery.
Usually, clubs that go into full tank mode are clubs that trade away stars to get more draft assets and force their way into losing because they simply lack the talent. However, this season, as many as eight franchises have seemingly embraced the tank, and some of them added big-name talent before the trade deadline.
The Sacramento Kings, Dallas Mavericks, and New Orleans Pelicans tanking is understandable after how they have played this season, and/or following what they did at the deadline. However, the Washington Wizards made trades for Trae Young and Anthony Davis. The Indiana Pacers acquired big man Ivica Zubac. The Utah Jazz added two-time All-Star Jaren Jackson Jr. And the Brooklyn Nets released one of their best players.
Yet, despite the acquisitions, most of those stars are expected to sit out all or most of the rest of the season. And in the case of the Jazz, they drew the ire of many around the league, and a hefty fine from the NBA this week after they purposefully sat their best talent late in games in a new tanking low.
NBA teams are lining up with ideas to fix lottery tanking problem
They all want to get a top pick in June’s NBA Draft. A draft that many basketball experts believe is the most talent-rich in a very long time. The battle to the bottom has created an ugly situation and an uproar from fans and analysts to change the draft lottery rules so this doesn’t happen again.
Well, it seems the NBA and teams around the league are coming up with ways to address the problem. This week, veteran NBA insider Zach Lowe reports that one idea is to allow pick protection rules to only be used for picks one through four, instead of the wide variations that are currently used.
Another major consideration around the league is for the lottery order to be based on a mix of records before March 1, and then odds are boosted via a points system for winning games after March 1. It would incentivize not destroying a roster before the deadline, or sitting healthy impact players late in games.
ESPN’s Cap-ologist Bobby Marks added to the idea Lowe is hearing with some more interesting information.
“There’s going to be some serious discussion here. And it’s not just going to be about eliminating pick protection,” Marks said. “There are a lot of teams that I’ve talked to that have their hand up ready to submit a proposal to the NBA to try to fix this.
“Whether it be rewarding teams in the standings with wins and not incentivizing teams to lose. I do think this is going to be an overhaul of the system, not just something minor here.”
