As the NBA regular season draws to a close, there's been a large amount of attention on tanking. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has made it a priority to curtail the practice and is in the process of implementing rules and measures around tanking that could are soon to be unveiled.
“We are going to fix it. Full stop,” Silver said in March, adding, “There is an aspect of team building that is called a genuine rebuild — a rebuild with integrity. The problem we're having these days is it’s become almost impossible to distinguish between the tank and rebuild.”
On Thursday's episode of Clutch Scoops, Senior NBA Reporter Brett Siegel laid out what he believes is a clear way to truly stop tanking.
“The best way to stop tanking, if they really want to stop it is to go after the money. You have to hit the owners pockets, and the way to do it is you take them out of the revenue share around the league.”
Disincentivizing tanking by taxing the team owners' money could certainly be a way to convince teams to compete. But, it appears that other fixes are at play by the NBA, as Siegel laid out rumors that he's been hearing.
“The one big change that I keep hearing, that’s almost a given at this point, is that the lottery will be expanding. It won’t be just 14 teams anymore. It’s going to be involving those play-in teams as well. Including the ones that make the playoffs as the seven and eight seed. They will be involved in the lottery.”
Nevertheless, the changes that will eventually be implemented will be interesting and could certainly make the league more entertaining.
