NBA Execs Reveal Potential Issues with Draft Lottery Rule Changes and New Format

Draft lottery reform is coming to the NBA, and it might be only a matter of time before new solutions are needed to address new problems.

A "3-2-1" plan will be put to a vote later this month. The Athletic's Sam Amick and Mike Vorkunov reported that "critics remain inside the league's front offices" ahead of the potential adoption:

"The most common concern from team executives polled by The Athletic at last week's Draft combine event? That the new rules might swap one set of problems for another, potentially solving the tanking issue that commissioner Adam Silver has vowed to fix, while making it that much harder for the NBA's worst teams to get out of the basement. In the eyes of these executives — many of whom believe this is an overreaction to a problem that was largely inspired by the strength of this particular draft — that's the irony of this approach."

Under the "3-2-1" format, the three worst teams only get two lottery balls. Three lottery balls are awarded to the next seven teams — those that miss the playoffs and fail to qualify for the play-in tournament.

"Teams that aren't trying to tank will then get penalized," one NBA staffer said to Amick and Vorkunov.

There are also the consequences on the trade market, in terms of the picks that have already been traded and those that could be dealt when lottery reform happens.

"Some executives also expressed frustration with the abruptness of the proposed changes, as they traded away future first-round picks under the old value system without knowing what was coming next," Amick and Vorkunov wrote.

Teams near the middle of the pack might also be more hesitant moving forward to sacrifice first-rounders until they know exactly where that pick will be.

Whatever qualms exist in front office around the NBA, the vote is trending toward approval. Amick and Vorkunov reported that "there has been minimal pushback from executives during the many league-run meetings that were designed to make this process collaborative." A group of execs also consider the reforms to be "inevitable."

Flattening the lottery odds in 2019 didn't provide a lasting remedy to tanking. Silver eventually felt compelled to go even further.

As long as the draft exists, there may not be a cure-all that removes the incentive to lose games and improve your odds of getting a top pick.