"As the league continues to deal with the fallout from a gambling scandal that exposed how injury information and late-season lineup decisions can be exploited, officials have begun exploring new ways to remove the incentive to lose on purpose. The focus isn't on rebuilding teams as a whole, but on the gray areas that allow competitive integrity to erode late in the season, particularly when draft positioning and protected picks come into play."
"Among the concepts discussed, per Charania, were limiting pick protections to either the top four or outside the lottery entirely, preventing teams from drafting in the top four in consecutive years and potentially locking lottery order after March 1. Each idea is designed to eliminate the middle ground where teams feel incentivized to sit contributors late in a season to preserve a protected pick or subtly slide down the standings."
"Brooklyn is rebuilding, but it hasn't done so by shutting players down or openly chasing losses. Healthy veterans have played. Young players have earned minutes. The Nets have competed nightly and lived with the consequences of a roster still learning how to close games and sustain success. Losses have come organically, not strategically. That's the version of rebuilding the league has said it wants to protect."
The NBA is reviewing rule changes to reduce incentives for teams to lose intentionally late in the season. League officials gathered input from owners and general managers and presented early ideas tied to the draft lottery, traded-pick protections, and late-season incentives. Proposed concepts include limiting pick protections to the top four or outside the lottery, preventing consecutive top-four draft positions, and locking lottery order after March 1. The measures aim to remove the middle ground that encourages sitting contributors to protect picks. No proposals have been formally adopted, and potential changes could alter rebuilding strategies for teams like Brooklyn.
Read at Yahoo Sports
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]