The odds of winning the NBA Draft Lottery when you are the worst team in the league are currently very good. The NBA wants to eliminate Tanking, and they could soon vote on a new rule that would level the odds for the few worst teams in basketball.
Flattening the odds will stop teams from tanking to have the absolute worst record in basketball, and if passed, the NBA could see a team that is not terrible come into the lottery. Tanking on its own has worked in the past, but it can make for very bad basketball. Adam Silver has seen the tactic used by teams like the 76ers, and he likely knew that it was time to make it stop.
Tanking ignores scouting
One of the best examples of why tanking does not work is the Philadelphia 76ers. They were quite open about trying to break down their team over many years to nothing but lottery picks. They have several lottery picks on their roster, but they have yet to play exciting basketball. Philly could improve quite a lot this season, but the 76ers spent too many years being terrible to ensure the picks were available. The team lost the trust of fans because it is hard to watch such terrible basketball.
Tanking ignores scouting in every way. In the NFL, a team such as the New England Patriots always finds great players late in the draft. It is true that players such as LeBron James were drafted high, but there are just as many players who were drafted in the second round and had long careers.
A franchise cannot expect to only have lottery picks on their team because that does not account for personality, skill set, and the system the team runs.
The consensus number one
The consensus number one in a draft becomes a much larger commodity if the odds in the lottery are flattened to give a better chance to several different teams.
A team that was not even one of the worst in the league could win the lottery because they are not at such a terrible disadvantage. A top draft pick such Kobe Bryant could become the hottest topic in the league that trumps free agency, and that player could become a trade chip if everyone knows who is it supposed to be.
Take, if you will, LeBron James as an example.
If the Lakers had won the lottery when LeBron was drafted, they would have been more likely to trade the pick to Cleveland for a fortune. A team that is fairly good who jumps up to the top spot could revitalize their franchise with one person, or the team could find the final piece for a championship run. Hopefully, the legislation will pass to make the lottery more interesting.
