NBA anti-tanking measures discussed as issue seemingly increasing

Tanking is considered an issue in all sports, albeit minor. But NBA teams looking to increase their draft lottery odds tend to take it to another level.

This year is no exception. As one NBA executive told ESPN, we could be about to see a tanking stretch that’s never before witnessed — as the race is already on for Duke star Cooper Flagg.

So, what does the league intend to do about it? Well, nothing this year. However, according to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Kevin Pelton, several measures are being explored.

One option would be to “flatten” the lottery odds even more than they are now.

“The NBA draft used to have a lottery where all nonplayoff teams had the same chance to move up,” Bontemps and Pelton wrote. “That ended after the Orlando Magic won the top spot in 1992 and 1993. In the latter season, when No. 1 pick Shaquille O’Neal was a rookie, the Magic had the best record of any lottery team at 41-41. One executive suggested a further flattening of the odds from where they’re currently are following the 2019 adjustment.”

But is that really a solution? Perhaps not, it seems.

“This comes with a clear downside: give too many teams the same odds at the top pick, a few might weigh whether pushing for the postseason is better than a chance at a franchise-altering prospect,” Bontemps and Pelton wrote.

Or how about counting wins, as opposed to losses after the All-Star break? It could be in play.

“Under the current system, teams at the bottom are rewarded for losing as many games as possible during the final two months of the season. What if that concept was turned on its head?” Bontemps and Pelton wrote.

“By making a portion of the second-half schedule (post-All-Star break or the final 20 games, for example) work in the opposite fashion — the most wins during that stretch would determine the lottery odds — it would obviously create a system where bad teams would have every reason to play hard and play their stars.

“Take last season for an example. The Spurs had an 11-44 record (.200) before the All-Star break, but then went 11-16 (.407) afterward. By adding their pre-break wins and post-break losses (and vice versa), the Spurs’ ‘lottery record’ of 27-55 — despite an actual mark of 22-60 — would get rewarded with better lottery odds for remaining competitive during that final stretch.”

One NBA executive suggested he liked this idea. “It would incentivize everyone to compete to the end,” the exec told ESPN.

Finally, another option might be to have lottery odds determined by how lottery teams fare against each other. It would almost be like a lottery tournament.

“An idea floated by an executive was to have the 14 lottery teams ordered by how they fare against one another during the regular season,” Bontemps and Pelton wrote. “Teams have a reason to compete in every game, and especially against these other lottery-bound teams.

“This one, though, comes with an obvious problem: The teams on the fringes of the play-in games, and in it, could potentially be pushed to play for a top pick in the draft instead of competing for the playoffs.”

ESPN mentioned a few other possibilities, some not bad ideas, some that likely wouldn’t fly. Either way, the league does realize tanking is a problem and from the sounds of things, is looking into further adjustments to the lottery system.