New NBA Rumors Reveal Punishments in Anti-Tanking Rules as Adam Silver Eyes Draft Lottery Reform

With the board of governors set to vote on the 3-2-1 draft lottery policy Thursday, NBA commissioner Adam Silver reportedly could have expanded powers to punish teams with anti-tanking rules.

"Silver would gain a lot of latitude to punish tanking offenders under the proposed system," Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic reported Monday. "He would be able to fine a team up to $10 million, force them to forfeit or transfer draft picks, reduce lottery odds, change draft positions or suspend team officials, according to league sources."

If the 3-2-1 system passes, the league will give three lottery balls to the teams that finish with the fourth to 10th worst records, two to the teams with the three worst records and those that finished in ninth and 10th place in the play-in tournament, and one ball to teams that lose the 7-8 matchup in the play-in tournament.

Vorkunov explained that such a system would be in place through the 2029 draft.

It should be noted, though, that many teams around the league have already traded future draft picks that will be impacted by these changes that shift the odds of landing the No. 1 pick for the teams with the three worst records from 14 percent in the current system to 5.4 percent.

"Some team executives bemoaned that these changes are coming after those picks have been dealt," Vorkunov reported.

At this point, 14 teams have traded control of their first-round picks for 2027. What's more, just 12 teams entirely control their own first-round picks for 2028 and 2029. When those trades were made, the picks had different values than they will with the current system.

Still, it is clear the league is striving to curtail tanking with these proposed changes. The expanded power for Silver to punish teams is indication of that, as fining up to $10 million or stripping them of draft picks could be quite the deterrent.

Yet there remains some concern, as Sam Amick and Vorkunov reported earlier this month some executives around the league believe the 3-2-1 changes are "an overreaction to a problem that was largely inspired by the strength of this particular draft."

With players such as AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer and Caleb Wilson, among others, standing out as potential franchise cornerstones, there was plenty of incentive for struggling teams to improve their lottery odds ahead of the 2026 NBA draft.

But if teams tank in the future for talented drafts, Silver will reportedly have significant power to punish them.