Community Shootaround

As we relayed on Saturday, Adam Silver criticized the practice of tanking during his annual All-Star press conference, calling it “corrosive” for NBA franchises. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst revisits Silver’s comments today, noting that the NBA commissioner referred to the concept of relegation in soccer leagues when he discussed tanking.

“People who are familiar with the operation of other leagues, you understand now why there’s relegation,” Silver said. “Because you pay an enormous price if you’re not competitive. I think, again, for the league and for our teams, there’s that ongoing challenge of whether we can come up with yet a better system.”

As Windhorst acknowledges, there’s no chance that the NBA would consider a system that relegates the league’s worst teams to the G League each season. But Windhorst believes that Silver and the league office would consider instituting anti-tanking measures that go beyond simply adjusting the lottery odds, since those changes have proven to be largely ineffective when it comes to dissuading tanking.

[RELATED: How New Lottery Odds Will Affect NBA’s Race To The Bottom]

What sort of changes could the NBA consider? Windhorst suggests that the teams at the very bottom of the league’s standings could have their payouts from the league-wide revenue pool cut back or eliminated altogether for that season. Alternately, those clubs could be penalized by having their available cap room or exceptions temporarily reduced, Windhorst suggests.

It’s not clear whether the NBA is actually considering possibilities along those lines, but Silver’s reference to a “better system” suggests that the league isn’t necessarily satisfied with the current format, despite the recent tweaks.

With the NBA constantly on the lookout for ways to discourage tanking, we want to know how you’d address the issue. Is the current lottery format satisfactory? Are there changes you’d make to that system? Are there outside-the-box suggestions like Windhorst’s that you’d like to see instituted?

Jump into the comment section below to share your thoughts!

Each year typically brings multiple front office shake-ups around the NBA. In 2018, the Hornets, Pistons, Sixers, and Timberwolves all dispatched their respective heads of basketball operations. In 2017, even more teams brought in new management groups, including the Knicks, Clippers, Cavaliers, Bucks, and a handful of others.

So far in 2019, the rumor mill has been quiet when it comes to potential front office changes. However, with the end of the regular season less than two months away, it will likely just be a matter of time before we get word of a team or two going in a new direction.

Front office shake-ups aren’t always easy to predict — before a bizarre Twitter-related scandal surfaced last summer, Bryan Colangelo didn’t appear to be in any danger in Philadelphia, but just over a week after that story broke, he was gone. While a saga like that one is unlikely to be repeated, it’s possible we’ll get some surprising front office news this summer.

For now though, there are a few general managers or presidents of basketball operations who already might be on the hot seat.

Wizards president of basketball ops Ernie Grunfeld is one of those executives, as his club has failed to get past the second round of the playoffs at all during his lengthy tenure in Washington, and has taken a significant step back this season. John Wall‘s four-year, super-max deal, which will begin this July, looks like perhaps the worst contract in the NBA, and the Wizards aren’t exactly loaded with assets around Wall and backcourt mate Bradley Beal.

Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace and Pelicans GM Dell Demps have faced plenty of criticism in recent years as well. Memphis, bogged down by Chandler Parsons‘ overpriced contract and declining veteran assets, has struggled mightily in the last two seasons, and Demps’ issues navigating the Anthony Davis waters have been well documented — as have his issues building the roster around Davis over the last several years.

In Chicago, a few good moves from Bulls executives John Paxson and Gar Forman, such as drafting Lauri Markkanen and Wendell Carter, have helped mask some questionable decisions in free agency and on the trade market. But with the Bulls’ win total set to decline for a fourth straight year, fans are losing their patience with the Paxson/Forman duo.

As the 2018/19 approaches its home stretch, we want to get your thoughts on the front office situations around the league. Do you expect any or all of the executives we mentioned above to lose their jobs this spring? Do some deserve another chance? Are there any other GMs or presidents across the NBA that you believe should be replaced?

Jump into the comment section below to share your two cents!

The Lakers want Anthony Davis and they want him now.

That’s apparent by their latest reported offer for the Pelicans superstar.

According to reports that surfaced today, the Lakers are willing to give up most of their young talent, draft picks and some cap space in order to pair up Davis with LeBron James. They’re willing to package Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Rajon Rondo, Michael Beasley and two first-round picks for Davis and Solomon Hill.

Kuzma is the Lakers’ second-leading scorer and Ingram, the second overall pick in the 2016 draft, is a close third. Ball, currently injured, was the second overall pick in the 2017 draft. Rondo and Beasley have expiring contracts, while Hill is owed over $12MM next season, so the Lakers would be sacrificing some cap space. And draft picks have become increasingly valued assets, so that’s quite a package the Lakers are willing to surrender.

Still, New Orleans doesn’t have to pull the trigger. The Pelicans could simply hold onto Davis and wait for the Celtics to enter the bidding. Boston can’t acquire Davis at this time because it already has a player, Kyrie Irving, who signed a designated player extension. Davis did the same with the Pelicans and no team can have two such players on the roster.

That prohibition ends when Irving becomes a free agent this offseason and the Celtics have long coveted AD. They could put together a package featuring Jayson Tatum and other quality players, plus a boatload of draft picks for Davis’ services.

The Pelicans could also hold out for offers from other teams with a collection of young talent and draft picks. They reportedly want an All-NBA caliber player as part of a deal for Davis and there’s no certainty that any of the players the Lakers offered fit that description.

That leads us to our question of the day: Should the Pelicans accept the latest Lakers offer for Anthony Davis or should they wait until the offseason to deal him?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.

There’s still nearly a week left before the trade deadline. Unless the Pelicans decide to move Anthony Davis before the offseason, the deal made the Mavericks and Knicks on Thursday will be hard to top.

Seemingly out of nowhere, the Knicks gave up on disgruntled Kristaps Porzingis and positioned themselves to be even bigger players in the free agent market this summer. Dallas acquired Porzingis and three backcourt players for young point guard Dennis Smith, the expiring contracts of Wesley Matthews and DeAndre Jordan and two future first-round picks.

It’s unlikely Porzingis will play this season as he continues his knee rehab, according to Mavs owner Mark Cuban. No matter. Dallas now has a young, supremely talented big man to pair up with rookie sensation Luka Doncic.

In a league where star power means everything, the Mavericks made a bold decision to surrender cap space and future assets to build their team around that duo. If Porzingis can regain his previous form, the Mavericks could become bona fide contenders once again. They’ll also become an attractive destination in future years for big-name free agents looking to jump on the Doncic-Porzingis bandwagon.

The Knicks rid themselves of a headache — Porzingis had let it be known he wasn’t happy with the state of the franchise. They also now have the room to sign two top-level free agents with speculation abound that Kevin Durant will move to the Big Apple.

That makes this summer all the more pivotal for the franchise and puts heavy pressure on the front office to catch a couple of big fish in the free agent pond this summer. As a bonus, they collect a couple of assets with the future first-rounders, which gives them more flexibility to make moves to build around whatever free agents they land.

That leads us to our question of the day: Which team do you feel got the better of the blockbuster deal between the Knicks and Mavericks and why?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.