The Sixer Sense
Fansided

Should league fix NBA Draft that helped to rebuild Philadelphia 76ers?

By Bret Stuter

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 22: The draft board is seen displaying picks 1 through 30 after the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft at Barclays Center on June 22, 2017 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 22: The draft board is seen displaying picks 1 through 30 after the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft at Barclays Center on June 22, 2017 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
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Philadelphia 76ers
DENVER, CO – NOVEMBER 09: A detail photo of the NBA logo on the Adidas warm up if the Portland Trail Blazers as the prepare to face the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center on November 9, 2015 in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /

Second key

The second key to fixing the NBA Draft is to expand the draft to more rounds. More rounds means more talent to the NBA pool. And that rising tide will rise the talent for all NBA teams.   But what about the incentive to “tank”?

Simple. Mandate a G-league team franchise to all 30 NBA teams. Then, change the rules so that no player can enter the NBA team directly from the draft. In short, force the NBA team to push the talent to the G-league for a minimum of one year.

How does that help?

By delaying the impact of the drafted player immediately, the executive who loads up the team with precarious talent risks his own job security .  If the reward is an immediate top pick from the draft, all is forgiven.

Next: Philadelphia 76ers: T.J. McConnell and Jerryd Bayless should play together

But if the NBA team must wait a year while that prospect competes in the G-League, then the fans and the organization’s patience is stretched too far.  If the league truly wants to remove incentives from rapid-cycling basketball talents through the NBA, the league must deflect that activity to the G-League.

The only way to fix the NBA lottery is to understand the true root of the problem. Until that happens, the discussion is nothing more than a scarecrow tactic to engage fans in meaningless debate.