Adam Silver says NBA to present ‘3-2-1’ anti-tanking proposal

NBA commissioner Adam Silver confirmed on Stephen A. Smith’s radio present Wednesday that the NBA has landed on a proposal to present to the league’s board of governors later this month to revamp the draft lottery in an try to curb tanking.

“What we’ve essentially done, and we have a proposal that we’re going to be bringing to our team owners at the end of May, and that is to create essentially a system of flat odds, so that you have no particular incentive to be bad,” Silver stated. “There’s even something we’re calling draft relegation, that if you’re one of the bottom three teams in the league, you’ll actually have worse odds than teams that sort of are four through up until teams make the playoffs.

“We’re nonetheless taking part in just a little bit with the system there.”

The system — the “3-2-1” system that ESPN first reported a couple of weeks ago — would give the three worst teams a lower percentage chance of winning the lottery than the teams picking from fourth to 10th in an effort to curb the need for clubs to be as bad as possible to increase their chances of landing a high pick.

All 4 groups that jumped up within the lottery this season — the Washington Wizards, Utah Jazz, Memphis Grizzlies and Chicago Bulls — made moves to try to improve their draft position in the closing weeks of the season.

Silver also reaffirmed that the NBA would have the ability to discipline teams for overt tanking beyond what they have been able to do in the past. The league fined the Jazz $500,000 for “conduct detrimental to the league” earlier this season.

“And additionally finally further authority for the league workplace that if we do see that kind of habits the place there is a sense that groups aren’t going all out to win, that we are able to truly take away draft lottery balls, we are able to change the order of the draft,” Silver said. “Teams have to know it is not nearly paying a monetary high quality, which they could assume is value it so as to get a high decide, however that it will instantly impression their potential to get a high draft decide.”

League officials have told ESPN in recent days that the expectation was this proposal would be the one that is ultimately passed by the league this month. While some have wondered whether anything actually needs to change, there’s also a near universal belief that something was going to be passed to change the system in light of how the past couple of drafts went.

The NBA has also reiterated this will be in place only through the 2029 season, when the new collective bargaining agreement will be in place, and that addressing tanking could be part of those negotiations as a result.

“The system that we’re going to be placing in entrance of our groups can be in impact for 3 years,” Silver said. “What we’re telling our groups is, the time period individuals use is it is going to ‘sundown.’ In different phrases, that is going to be a brand new flat-odd system. It’ll be in place for 3 years and can give us time for added examine to see whether or not there are different inventive methods to higher distribute gamers.

“And it’ll also give us an opportunity to see how our teams respond to the system, because one thing I’ve learned, whether it’s new provisions in the collective bargaining agreement, new provisions in the draft lottery, which as you know we’ve changed many times over the years, the teams are incredibly innovative and creative at coming up with ways to work the system.”