The legendary coach breaks down how anti-tanking reforms force small-market teams to abandon long-term losing streaks and master high-stakes trades to secure elite talent and financial flexibility.
The new NBA Draft lottery has stark repercussions for teams looking to rebuild, like the Sacramento Kings.
On Monday, former Kings head coach Jerry Reynolds joined Sactown Sports' The Drive Guys to talk about the potential fallout from the reform.
"It does seem to me like, well, clearly it’s taken away, whatever, for the most part, the advantage of tanking," Reynolds said. “It kind of behooves teams to try to be better."
This was of course the main intent of the deal, as NBA Commissioner Adam Silver talked about cracking down on the increased tanking displayed this past season.
With the adopted system, teams finishing within the middle of the lottery standings have a better chance at landing the No. 1 overall pick than the franchises with the bottom-3 records.
Reynolds explained how this new rule could put smaller market teams at a disadvantage, while putting trading and free agency at an even higher importance.
"I think that it’s going to hurt small market teams maybe more than anybody else," Reynolds said. "Waiting three or four years in the draft being bad to get that one guy, you know, the Cade Cunningham or the [Victor] Wembanyama, it’s almost impossible to do now."
Outside of the main change with the top selection, the reform also restricts teams from picking in the top-5 three years in a row.
While this may seem like a minor change, many successful, young franchises have recently jumpstarted their futures through making consecutive top-5 picks.
For example, the San Antonio Spurs, who recently advanced to the NBA Finals, selected Wembanyama (1st overall), Stephon Castle (4th overall), and Dylan Harper (2nd overall) in consecutive seasons.
With this change, the non-draft parts of the offseason becomes crucial to teams' success.
"If you want to be good, you’d better be good at trading," Reynolds said. "Trading and free agency now become even more important than they were before for small-market teams."
For teams like the Kings, however, this may be a detriment.
With hefty contracts due to aging veterans like Domantas Sabonis and Zach LaVine, this reform could hurt Sacramento more than it helps, at least for the time being.
While the Kings are not a premier free agency destination, Reynolds believes there are ways around it for General Manager Scott Perry.
I think for Scott Perry, your best chance is to make good deals," Reynolds said. “You have to create assets and improve the assets that you have. People always say, ‘Well, no free agent wants to come,' Yes, they do. If they can make more money, you just have to be in a position to overpay them."
With these changes, having financial flexibility becomes non-negotiable, especially for small market teams like Sacramento.
Join our ROUNDTABLE community! It's free to join. Share your thoughts, engage with our Roundtable writers, and chat with fellow members.
Download the free Roundtable APP, and stay even more connected!
