From SB Nation's "Good Morning It's Basketball" newletter by Tom Ziller
Good morning. Let's basketball.
What if instead of letting teams who lose lots of games have their pick of the best amateur players in the world the NBA let said amateurs become free agents when entering the league?
What if teams weren't rewarded for losing? What if they had to convince even rookies to join their teams?
That's the idea I presented in my Sunday piece on ending the NBA draft. My proposal would give teams a rookie salary cap exception every year and allow teams with cap space to sign young prospects above that number. The key feature is that all of this would happen simultaneously with actual free agency, forcing teams to prioritize among varying levels of experience.
I'm not the only person thinking reform here: Amin Elhassan presented a similar plan in 2015. The odds are extraordinarily low this could ever happen -- small-market owners ralled against even lottery reform as the Sixers executed a brazen multi-season tank job -- but it is a legitimate alternative to the NBA's status quo.
I am convinced that eventually the level of intentional losing that happens at the end of seasons will need to be dealt with. Twenty percent of the league is straight up embarrassing right now. Doesn't that matter?
Good morning. Let's basketball.
What if instead of letting teams who lose lots of games have their pick of the best amateur players in the world the NBA let said amateurs become free agents when entering the league?
What if teams weren't rewarded for losing? What if they had to convince even rookies to join their teams?
That's the idea I presented in my Sunday piece on ending the NBA draft. My proposal would give teams a rookie salary cap exception every year and allow teams with cap space to sign young prospects above that number. The key feature is that all of this would happen simultaneously with actual free agency, forcing teams to prioritize among varying levels of experience.
I'm not the only person thinking reform here: Amin Elhassan presented a similar plan in 2015. The odds are extraordinarily low this could ever happen -- small-market owners ralled against even lottery reform as the Sixers executed a brazen multi-season tank job -- but it is a legitimate alternative to the NBA's status quo.
I am convinced that eventually the level of intentional losing that happens at the end of seasons will need to be dealt with. Twenty percent of the league is straight up embarrassing right now. Doesn't that matter?