CLEVELAND — Tanking has been a bigger issue this season than most — at least it is based on how the national media is covering it. As a result, the NBA is trying to find ways to curb that.
According to a recent report from ESPN’s Shams Charania, the league is looking into adding anti-tanking measures. Things on the table include: changing first round pick protections, lottery odds freezing earlier in the season, the odds being based on the record over several years, flattening the odds, and more.
Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson has heard the noise. As of now, he doesn’t have a good solution to fix the supposed issue.
“I kind of don’t want to get into that,” Atkinson said when asked if there was a tanking issue before Thursday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets. “It’s so complex.”
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There’s a lot of moving parts with the tanking conversation, and not all of them have to deal with the draft.
The current CBA has incentivized star players to leave in trades instead of free agency. This has created an environment where draft picks have arguably become more valuable in trades than ever. Messing with the odds would change the currency and value of those picks.
Then, there’s also the fact that it’s hard to get talent to go to small markets — like Cleveland. As the Cavs have shown, the draft isn’t the only way to bring talent in, but it is one of the easiest and simplest ways to do so.
“I understand all sides,” Atkinson said. “Teams, they want to get another James Harden, they want to get a Donovan Mitchell, so I understand that. But I also understand the side where we want a competitive game every night for the media, for the fans, for the coaches, right? Competition is the essence of the NBA.”
Figuring out how to make games matter, but also funneling talent to the worst teams in the league has been a difficult balance for the NBA to strike. Even if you found a way to get rid of tanking, you can’t keep teams from being bad. Presumably, a healthy sports league that’s gone to great lengths to ensure competitive balance doesn’t want bad teams to stay that way year-after-year.
We’ll see what the league does to address this. There’s a lot of potential solutions, but none that clearly help all parties involved.
“I’ve seen all the alternative proposals,” Atkinson said. “I wish I could sit up here and say, hey, I want to champion this one. I haven’t studied it that deeply, but I understand the sentiment and the frustration.”
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