The NBA and its stakeholders are discussing potential changes to the league’s schedule with one wrinkle being an in-season tournament. The event, which would be modeled after European soccer, would give all 30 teams a chance to win, but unlike the proposed postseason play-in tournament, it’s hard to envision every team putting its best foot forward without some sort of incentive.
One proposal designed to incentivize teams to do well in the tournament is to award the winner with an extra draft pick, Marc Stein of the New York Times hears (Twitter links). Any such plan would be subjected to a league vote and it would likely come in addition to offering bonus competition to players and coaches competing in the event.
No changes are expected to take place until the 2021/22 season. In addition to the pair of tournaments, other changes, such as reseeding of conference finalists and a reduction in the amount of regular-season games, have been proposed.
Sounds like a great way to destroy a teams season (injury) by adding a tourney. I don’t know if you could put a sufficient enough reason for the best teams to compete. We would see a lot of load management
A playoff bye in the first round to the winner/finalists, is the only thing I can come up with that would make it really worthwhile for teams
Maybe give the top team from each conference a lock for a playoff spot.
Seriously, this is going to be the NBA version of the “coach’s challenge” fiasco in the NFL. It’s something that no fan wants (and the league doesn’t need), but we just HAVE to have, according to the NBA brass.
I think this would be even worse than that. I am thinking this would be even worse than MLB deciding home field for the World Series based on the All Star Game.
Why would the losing teams (Knicks, Cavs, Bulls, etc) won’t agree because it’ll result in good teams winning the tournament and getting a better draft pick than them.
And winning teams although they would want the pick they wouldn’t want to risk star players getting hurt and ruining their season.
Then lastly from a players standpoint, they get paid their current contracts to play the 82 game regular season, star players like Kawhi sit 1 in every 3 games to be fresh for the playoffs. I think most stars would sit out the tournament because of risk of injuries.
The only people that would benefit from this would be young players hoping to get more game time. Or players like Melo, IT and stuff, former stars being able to showcase their talent to hopefully get a bigger role
This is beyond gimmicky. Silver is really out into left field with this one.
I don’t like this idea because it’s nothing but a horrible stupid stunt & Adam Silver continuing the destruction of the Professional game just like his predecessor King David Stern
What did Stern destroy? Maybe some small thing , but I think he grew the game tons!
Stern had little to do with growing the game, except to turn his head about violence, meaning he successfully got people mad and awake.
Silly idea. Silver is a cancer.
Adam I’ve loved your work generally, but this sucks.
Lmao my thoughts exactly.
It’s clearly a gimmick and not a good one.
I could see something like a 3 on 3 tourney taking place during All Star Weekend with only non-All Star players being allowed to compete for each team. It could give some lesser known players publicity. Winning team could get a bonus 2nd rounder or maybe get an extra dollar amount equal to the average NBA salary in luxury tax space or cap space for the rest of the year which would be far more valuable than a draft pick.
But a full team tourney is just a horrible idea.
In season tourny? Pass. How about a tourny one and done style like march madness between all the teams that don’t make the playoffs? Winner gets 1st pick in the draft.
Wont happen. Low market teams like Cleveland for example will always end up with a pick from 10-14 range
I don’t get your logic there. But even if it were sound, there have been many superstars picked in the 10-14 range.
What did Stern destroy? Maybe some small thing , but I think he grew the game tons!
I think a tourney to determine the top pick is a good idea. Make a team earn the top pick instead of just have them luck into it. But I would give the worst four teams byes into the last eight and then still not let them go below four. Have the best non-playoff teams play the most games and maybe even make the worst teams be a double elimination game. Just comes down to if the fans would show up for these games which is a good question.
If you read the other stories on this, it seems like they will use mostly pre-existing regular season games for the first rounds of the tournament, not add games, so it could actually work without a lot of changes to the current schedules anyway
I bet that happens. Minimization of risk of change; let the trny build reputation over time.
Someday Silver will be thanked for this and that is what he wants– legacy. Someday teams will play for the Silver Cup!
The reward for winning the tournament should be a 5-year exemption from playing in it.
Supercollider: lol
The extra draft picks are a good incentive. Maybe a #15 for the winner and #31-#33 for the #2-#4.
Monetary rewards may not work or may backfire.
A +10 on the next #1 could work too. That would get the weaker teams inspired, because they could go right to the top of the order and get the #1.
Do it early in the year, while players still want to return.
Make it a 77-game RS with teams getting fill-in games that count until the 82 is reached. That would be complicated, but Silver wants the trny, so he is willing. Some players & many fans would ignore it– well as they say in Europe, say-la-vi, or some such.
Harmless-ness is good.
Would picks #12, 23 & 24 also be pretty good incentive? Also what are the teams #5-#8 going to work for, of course then it’s just regular season totals, right?
Ok I re-read your post, I get it then it’s fill-in games that count until the full 82.
#15 is the first pick after the lottery picks, and #31 is the first second-round pick. The fill-in games could be all the games scheduled against one division… It would wind up a bit unbalanced in the schedule but the commish
… is pushing for something.
Nobody is asking for this lol just stop.
Silver and Manfred both leagues with complete losers running them. Wow how the mighty have fallen.