That's all it Tanks!

Lately in the NBA, the league has started to feel very top heavy. You have teams like the Warriors, Celtics, and the Sixers just to name a few teams who have a completely stacked roster. What about the other teams? Teams like the Hawks, Suns, and the Cavs? The are completely set on tanking. What is tanking? Tanking is a term that is used to explain that a team is losing intentionally to gain better draft picks for the future. My question is, is this good for the NBA? Are the fans at home excited to watch their teams lay on their back every night and accept defeat? In the moment it would not be fun to watch, but you can argue it is worth the wait. Teams like the Sixers and the Celtics were bad for a few years, and they have top rosters, talent-wise, in the NBA. What if there was another way for the teams to be competitive each year, and still get a high draft pick?

What if there was a March Madness type tournament for NBA teams who did not make the playoffs? Winner of this single elimination tournament gets the first overall pick, second place gets the second overall pick, so on and so fourth. This may sound like a bold move, but imagine how much money this could bring in for the NBA! not only do you have playoff basketball, but you have other games that are almost just as important! This idea has many questions along with it, but I am here to discuss three great points about this situation.

1.) Teams will be forced to be competitive again. There will no longer be teams with scrubs starting all 82 games. This rule change will force teams to try to pick up good talent in free agency so they can be competitive throughout the season. It will be incentive to gain a first round bye in this lottery tournament, first 2 teams outside of the playoff hunt would get the byes.

2.) MONEY! As many players in the league will tell you, the NBA is a business. At the end of the day, everyone wants their checks. This tournament would be going on the same time as the playoffs, and it would be a few additional games that would be added on.

3.)The tournament would help young players experience a playoff-like atmosphere. A problem with young teams in the NBA is when they hit the playoffs, they struggle due to the lack of playoff experience, this scenario may help that situation. This is NOT the NBA playoffs, but these games would still be very important to each organization.

Teams that float just outside the playoffs should have an equal chance for the number one pick because they are trying to be competitive, unlike the teams who will throw away a couple seasons just for a couple good picks. Teams like the Pelicans and the Hornets are teams that come to mind. They have big name players like Anthony Davis and Kemba Walker, but they struggle to make the playoffs or struggle in the playoffs because of the lack of help they get with their lower lottery picks they receive. These teams should not be punished for trying to be competitive with a below average roster. This idea may be very unrealistic, but it is something that should be considered if tanking starts to become a bigger problem in the NBA.

Inspirations for this article:

http://grantland.com/features/tanks-for-nothing-nba/

https://youtu.be/Q-pJanwy934

Picture credit:

https://www.phillymag.com/news/2017/10/21/sixers-future-embiid-simmons-fultz/