NBA Rules changed, only adding more uncertainty
The NBA rule committee, now concerned with the rather significant and rapid improvement to the Philadelphia 76ers, acted quickly to close the door to any NBA teams hoping to replicate their methods. The fear is that teams might pursue a “tanking” strategy to improve their NBA Lottery odds, with the worst team capped at 25 percent.
Now, that “best shot at the top pick” has been drastically reduced. Now the best possible odds of that top pick to any team falls to 14 percent. The worst team, once assured a top-three pick, is not only assured a top-five pick. The top four picks are subject to the NBA lottery.
Rebuilding is now rebuilding with less opportunity to improve
Uncertainty. Uncertainty upon uncertainty. How does a front office hope to improve their club if their poor performance is rewarded of the fifth, not the first, draft pick?
Here is an ESPN graphic on how NBA Draft lottery odds change in 2019 pic.twitter.com/Jk8X7q0J3Z
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 28, 2017
Here is the press conference. You can catch the lottery reform question at the 5:45 mark.
And there it was, in the press conference. “Be Bad”, “Field bad teams”. The objective of reform simply aimed to flatten the odds. And that introduction of more uncertainty means NBA teams will seek out executives who know how to beat the odds.
Someone like Sam Hinkie.