Cleveland Cavaliers: 3 reasons why tanking is a bad idea

2. Changes to the draft lottery

Tanking is clearly a problem for the NBA. No one wants to watch a team that is intentionally losing games. However, for some teams, tanking is their best option for rebuilding the franchise. It can be nearly impossible to rise as an organization if you can’t rack up high draft picks.

The draft lottery is the system in which the NBA randomly selects the draft order for the first 14 picks of the draft. Usually, if there haven’t been any trades made, the teams with the lowest records have the highest chance of earning a good draft pick.

As a result, teams have abused this system for years. The Philadelphia 76ers are the most notable team to do this recently. The Sixers had a number of horrible seasons in a row in which the front office did little to help the team improve. They did this with the hopes of receiving high draft picks to rebuild their team. Looking at their current situation, it’s safe to say this method worked for them.

Unfortunately, the NBA has decided that this technique of rebuilding is damaging to the game and has implemented new rules to discourage tanking. In prior years, the team with the worst record in the league would have a 25 percent chance of landing the No. 1 pick in the draft. Now, the best odds have been reserved for the three worst teams, rather than just the worst.

Furthermore, the reward for being one of the three worst teams has been reduced. Instead of 25 percent chance, the bottom three teams now receive just a 14 percent chance, which is shared between the three of them.

In conclusion, the incentive to be horrible has been taken away. Being the worst team in the league no longer gives you an edge in the lottery.