Some rather major changes could be in store for the NBA’s draft lottery.
A new proposal for the lottery that aims to eliminate tanking as an attractive option for struggling franchises has strong support among NBA owners, sources told Grantland’s Zach Lowe.
Lowe also reports that owners could vote to adopt the new system as early as this season.
Here’s how it would work: Instead of the last-place team having a 25 percent chance of landing the No. 1 pick, the bottom four teams each would have an 11 percent chance of winning the lottery. The new system also would bump up all lottery-bound teams’ chances of earning the top spot, as the non-playoff team with the best record would have a 2 percent chance of winning, as opposed to the 0.5 percent chance it has under the current rules.
Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens, whose team finished outside of the playoffs last season for the first time since 2006-07, said Wednesday that he understands the desire for an updated format. Stevens specifically praised the innovative “wheel” idea hatched by Celtics assistant general manager Mike Zarren that would rotate the top pick among the 30 NBA franchises on a yearly basis regardless of record.
“I don’t really know as far as the standpoint of where (in the process) that is,” Stevens said. “I love Mike Zarren’s idea of the 30-year wheel, or whatever he came up with. … I think it’s great. I think they need to look at all that. But from a player’s and coach’s standpoint, you’re playing and coaching, and you’re doing everything you can to win the next game. I think that’s all you can do. But I do understand why that would be a good thing to tweak.”
Unsurprisingly, the Philadelphia 76ers, who are in the midst of a multi-season tank job, reportedly are not one of the teams in favor of lottery reform.
