The NBA is looking into ways to provide compensation for the winning team of their proposed in-season tournament, according to a report from Marc Stein of the New York Times.
The in-season tournament idea hasn’t been fully agreed upon yet. If it goes through, Stein reports that the winning team could be awarded with an extra first round draft pick and a hefty chunk of change.
According to their official account, the NBA has sent a proposal to teams calling for a 78-game regular season, along with an in-season tournament for all teams. A reseeding of the playoffs would be set when the field is cut to the final four clubs.
A copy of the proposal was obtained by The Associated Press on Friday. The plan laid out for teams calls for a play-in tournament to decide the seventh and eighth seeds in both conferences – the top 10 finishers in both the East and West would therefore have a chance at the playoffs – as well as a $1 million per player prize for the in-season tournament.
The league would make the changes for the 2021-22 season on a trial basis, with an option to continue the next season. The league’s board of governors is expected to discuss and likely decide whether to go forward or not with the plan in April.
There has been some push back with regards to the reseeding of the playoffs, but the idea of an in-season tournament has been on the mind of commissioner Adam Silver for a while. For now, we’ll have to wait and see if this plan comes to fruition.