The reformation of the NBA’s lottery system has been much maligned over the course of the past year because of the somewhat shrewd yet laughable “tanking” antics of the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers’ negligence to create a competitive roster last season and this upcoming season in hopes of striking it big in the lottery has front offices, fans and owners up in arms.
Philadelphia is really the first team in NBA history to deploy tanking as a five-year plan, rather than a one-season quick fix. The 1996-97 San Antonio Spurs (who had won 59 games in 1995-96) tanked their way to a 20-62 record after their star center David Robinson was lost for the season.
Knowing that any title hopes they had were seemingly vanished without the presence of Robinson, this was the right move for a team that is reliant on the draft to develop stars due to playing in the small market of San Antonio. Their reward was the first overall pick, Tim Duncan, and five championship rings.
The point being is that with the way the system is currently constructed, it makes sense for teams not contending for a title (which really there are only five to eight teams per season that can say they have championship aspirations) to bottom out completely and take their chances at the lottery to find the next franchise player at the top of the draft.
This is a better strategy than being stuck in NBA no man’s land and win 41 games a season and be a fringe playoff team year after year.
The 76ers should not be condemned for having the balls to exploit the system in ways other teams have not. Sure they are a laughing stock as of now, but their plan could strike tremendous dividends in the future.
Many owners around the league have been on an offseason surge to stop the Sixers in their tracks by reforming the entire lottery system. In the proposed new system, the first six picks of the draft would be determined by the lottery as opposed to the top three picks in the current system.
This would mean that the team with the worst record in the league couldn’t pick lower than seventh. Under the current system, the team with the worst record in guaranteed a top-four pick at worst and that difference from four to seven is a huge one when it comes to the crapshoot that is the NBA draft.
Owners voted on the proposal today, and analysts and league personnel were nearly certain that the new lottery system proposal would go through with only Philadelphia and the Oklahoma City Thunder opposing.
This turned unbelievably fast. Some ownership sources literally 36 hours ago anticipated a 29-1 or 28-2 vote for reform.
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) October 22, 2014
Instead of the anticipated change to the system, the owners voted 17-13 in favor reform (23 votes in favor were needed in order for the new lottery system to be put into place).
Take a look at the 13 teams that voted against reform according to Adrian Wojnarowski:
Here were the 13 "No" votes, sources told Yahoo: PHX, PHL, OKC, NO, DET, MIA, MIL, San Antonio, Utah, Wash, ATL, CHA and Chicago.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 22, 2014
Nearly all of these teams (outside of Chicago, Philly, maybe Washington and you could talk me into Miami) are in small markets and are usually left at the alter by potential free agent stars. Chicago, Washington, and New Orleans have reaped the benefits of the current lottery system by earning the No. 1 pick and drafting Derrick Rose, John Wall, and Anthony Davis so it is understandable why they would be partial to the current system.
The current system allows for front offices of struggling small market teams to sell the illusion of hope to their fans and their owner. Remember when New Orleans was stuck with a disgruntled Chris Paul, was owned by the league and couldn’t find a new owner?
Suddenly they are rewarded the No. 1 pick through the lottery
that David Stern rigged so New Orleans could get a potentially transcendent star in Anthony Davis and push the selling price of the team higher
and have the direction of their franchise pointed upward by drafting Anthony Davis.
In one short year, New Orleans went from having nothing and being a relocation candidate, to having one of the five most exciting players in the league.
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It’s nice for a general manager to have the illusion of hope card in his back pocket if or when he ever needs it, and that whole scenario may have vanished had reform taken place.
In short, the NBA lottery system that we all have accustomed to is here to stay for the time being, leaving smaller market teams with a glimmer of hope of landing a franchise player. Although there have been whispers of another meeting between the owners during the All-Star Break, it will be difficult for teams to do away with the current system and vote in favor of reform.
With the salary cap expected to jump to levels never seen by the league as early as the 2015-16 or 2016-17 season (currently at a record $63 million, could jump to $88.8 million once the new TV deal sets in according to businessinsiders.com) small market teams must be weary of the NBA’s richest teams (Lakers, Knicks, Celtics, Bulls, Clippers) having even more leeway and cash to splurge on big name free agents.
It is going to become even more of a priority for teams with limited resources and revenues to make shrewd trades, gamble on troubled players with potential (think Lance Stephenson and Charlotte) and be smart with their draft choices.
All in all, today was a victory for the Sixers and small market teams like the Pelicans everywhere. The whole lottery reform process will be an interesting narrative to follow moving forward and could potentially shift the way league executives think about team construction.