A proposal for new NBA lottery rules could flip draft odds. Discover how such rule changes might affect the Brooklyn Nets.
In the NBA this season, tanking became the main point of discussion, as more teams than usual seemingly began to give up and focus on securing better position in the draft.
The league's new "3-2-1" proposal to address the increase in tanking would have a stark impact on teams that finish in the bottom of the standings, like the Brooklyn Nets did this year.
The Nets finished the year 20-62, securing the best odds at landing within the top-five and a 14-percent chance at the top overall selection.
However, if the proposed changes to the lottery were approved, the Nets would actually have a worse chance than teams with significantly better records.
According to the proposal, teams that finish with a bottom-three record in the league would receive two lottery balls compared to the three that teams in the bottom 4-10 team records would have.
Teams that lose in the play-in games would receive just one ball, but would hold similar chances at the No. 1 overall pick as the bottom tier of teams.
Essentially, the worst teams in the NBA would be penalized for landing in the bottom-three, regardless of intent or talent level.
ESPN's Shams Charania reported that "no team would be able to win the top pick in consecutive years or be able to win three consecutive top-five picks. Teams also would not be able to protect picks in the 12 to 15 slots going forward."
While this approval is far from set in stone, if it was confirmed, the changes would go into effect next season.
However, looking back on this past season, if such new rules had already been implemented, the lottery odds would have been completely shaken up.
The Nets would hold just a 5.4-percent chance at the No. 1 overall selection, while teams like the Milwaukee Bucks, Atlanta Hawks, and Sacramento Kings hold 8.1-percent odds.
Talented teams like the Golden State Warriors and Miami Heat, who lost in the play-in, would mirror the bottom-three squads - the Nets, Indiana Pacers and league-worst Washington Wizards.
While tanking certainly is an increasingly serious issue and NBA commissioner Adam Silver has been vocal about wanting to implement new changes to prevent it, this would be a radical switch.
The Nets were one team that showed tanking tendencies towards the end of the year, but many of their problems were also very real injuries.
Rewarding teams for mediocrity rather than squads that are just flat-out not ready to win in an era of deep, uber-talented NBA rosters would be something difficult to navigate.
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