The best way for the NBA to fix tanking is to get rid of the draft. Because that'll never happen, the league introduced a new proposal to encourage competition, ESPN's Shams Charania reported Tuesday.
The league was previously considering a proposal that would've expanded the draft lottery to 18 teams and flattened odds for the bottom 10, which was an awful idea. Apparently, the NBA came to its senses on that one because the latest proposal to GMs is completely different.
The new system, named the "3-2-1 lottery," would expand the lottery from 14 to 16 teams and utilize a relegation system to penalize the bottom three teams with fewer lottery balls for the No. 1 pick. Here's a quick breakdown:
Bottom 3 teams: 2 lottery balls each (can't fall below No. 12 pick)
No. 9 & 10 seeds in each conference: 2 lottery balls each
No. 7 & 8 seeds in each conference: 1 lottery ball each
Additionally, no team would be able to win the No. 1 pick in consecutive years or win three consecutive top-five picks.
On its face, this does seem like a decent enough plan to encourage competition at the bottom of the league. But man, it threatens to make it tough for actually bad teams to get better. Which was always the point of giving worst teams better odds.
We may find out soon enough how well this system works. According to Shams, there could be minor modifications to the proposal before a final owners vote on May 28 but key points of the framework have a majority of support from teams.
It'll take a near-flawless performance for the Houston Rockets to avoid elimination tonight, as Kevin Durant has been ruled out for Game 5.
Though we saw Houston win the last game without him, the chances of that happening again as the series shifts back to Los Angeles feel slim. Especially with news of Austin Reaves' return to the Lakers lineup from an oblique injury.
Reporting on the injury statuses of the Lakers' Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves and Rockets' Kevin Durant for @GetUpESPN: pic.twitter.com/eYtiIQb2Gw
We've seen crazier things, though, so don't count the Rockets out just yet. They're only 4.5-point underdogs at sportsbooks, and Alperen Sengun has apparently figured out how to light a fire under his desperate team.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dillon Brooks got into a hilarious troll-fest on social media after the Thunder swept the Suns.
While we're on the Suns, should Devin Booker try to leave for a better situation? Robert Zeglinski explored that thought.
Angel Reese celebrated a Magic player dunking on Jalen Duren again... and what a dunk it was by Jamal Cain.
No, the Warriors and Grizzlies are not engaged in some secret playoff series despite the jokes on social media.
This was Layup Lines, For the Win's basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: NBA introduces new lottery proposal to fix tanking