Tanking is not a guarantee that you'll get a franchise player... and can you imagine a Rockets team with only 13-15 wins in a season? No one would go to games, fans would be pissed. It's too risky. Too much money lost. I would much rather have a team that goes out and plays hard, tries to win, then watch a team purposely call it quits.
Can't just change the rules to put the Rockets in a better position. The worst teams should have the best chance to get the best player in the draft or else they may never turn it around.
What about simply money as an incentive? Keep the soft cap but make the luxury tax heavier. Then allocate (some of) the tax money to teams that don't make the playoffs. Worst 3 teams get nothing, 4-6 get something, 7-9 a little bit more and 10-14 get most of the money. This way when you miss the playoffs, you have more money to improve your team even if you don't get one of the top picks.
I think it's too late to tank, even if we don't make the playoffs we will have the last lottery pick which is not that big of a deal, let's make push for the playoffs.
We're 12th now. With a little effort, we could pass GSW for #11. We might even pass the Nets if they catch fire with Deron Williams. We just need to watch out for Denver and New Orleans if they take a dive. So, I'm cautiously optimistic for a #10 pick. That'd be pretty good.
If you want to make the lottery a true lottery, why don't you give the non-playoff teams a certain number of lottery tickets based on their record (with the worst non playoff team getting the most "free" lottery tickets, but not so much morethan the others). Then, make the teams buy more lottery tickets at a fixed price if they want to have a higher chance of drafting first. Then, draw the tickets for the first pick in the draft and so on.
Why don't we make it so that the Rockets are always one of the 8 playoff teams in the Western Conference and always get a top 5 pick. You can't cry about the rules and ask for change when the current system is fine the way it is, teams that tank for the worst record in the NBA aren't guaranteed the 1st overall pick. Again, you can't just ask for a rule change to accommodate the Rockets, if they decide to go for the playoffs instead of developing players and fall short, well they just aren't good enough.
Reward the Rockets with what? The #1 pick? It's not like we need it more than the Cavs. Most of the bad teams this year aren't tanking, they actually suck on paper too. This is one of the more tank-free years I've seen. I want to see the Rockets in the playoffs. This current win streak is fun to watch. And I'd rather see it continue than lose to get a few spots higher in the draft. Besides, a top ten pick guarantees nothing. Utah thought they had it made with New York's unprotected pick last year. Then they proceeded to blow it on Gordon Hayward, while New York got Landry Fields in the second round.
Making the playoffs worsens the pick we get this year and leaves only one slot left for the Suns to get, making it much more probable that we get Orlando's pick instead of Phoenix's. A pick in the 10-12 range combined with a pick in the 16-18 range and absorbing a bad contract might be enough to move up to draft an impact player. A pick in the 16-18 range combined with a pick in the mid 20s almost certainly won't. And all it costs us is more development for the young guys and a reduced risk of injury for our aged vets. Guess I'm not a true fan
I've felt that the lotto has needed to change for awhile. Every pick should be up for grabs....not just the first three. Also teams that finish above .500 should be given a significant amount of bonus balls in the lotto. Something like 5 extra for each game over .500 would be good to see imo
only good thing about tanking is that the upcoming nba draft has suddenly become that much more interesting.
This goes against the very spirit of the lottery. Yeah, let's give Miami, Boston and the Lakers a top 10 pick so they'll stay relevant for all eternity. The whole draft was created for the sake of parity. LOL why will you give the 3 time defending champs a number 1 pick and then give the bottom feeders a late first rounder?
Maybe they should play a tournament during the playoffs for the other 16 teams? Winner gets first pick. 2nd place gets 2nd.. so on and so forth.
