Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - Proposed Overhaul Of The NBA Draft Would Eliminate Tanking. Should NHL consider?

Senator Clay Davis · 12-23-2013, 10:42 AM

This is a pretty silly idea, one that is more likely to again favour the have franchises at the expense of the have nots. Theoretical situation: Toronto is going to pick #1 in 2015, the Lakers are going to pick #1 in 2016. These are now locked in under this system. LeBron James II (just work with me here) wants to play in LA, not Toronto. Now he can simply not declare himself eligible for the 2015 draft, and even if the Lakers win it all in 2016 and Toronto finished DFL, he's going to LA in 2016. I'm sure you'll be able to build a strong, national fan base (obviously not, you'll become like baseball, a regional sport). The system can now be severely slanted to the big market squads.

So really for this type of system to even slightly work, you need to have a set, defined criteria that forces players into the draft and does not allow them the right to choose when they enter. The NFL model works just fine because of the parity of the league. KC picked #1 overall last year and is going to the playoffs this year. There's no other sport in the world where that can actually happen. Until other leagues reach that parity (the NBA and MLB being the worst offenders), the draft system will be flawed.

12-23-2013, 10:42 AM	#15
Senator Clay Davis Franchise Player Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Maryland State House, Annapolis Exp:	This is a pretty silly idea, one that is more likely to again favour the have franchises at the expense of the have nots. Theoretical situation: Toronto is going to pick #1 in 2015, the Lakers are going to pick #1 in 2016. These are now locked in under this system. LeBron James II (just work with me here) wants to play in LA, not Toronto. Now he can simply not declare himself eligible for the 2015 draft, and even if the Lakers win it all in 2016 and Toronto finished DFL, he's going to LA in 2016. I'm sure you'll be able to build a strong, national fan base (obviously not, you'll become like baseball, a regional sport). The system can now be severely slanted to the big market squads. So really for this type of system to even slightly work, you need to have a set, defined criteria that forces players into the draft and does not allow them the right to choose when they enter. The NFL model works just fine because of the parity of the league. KC picked #1 overall last year and is going to the playoffs this year. There's no other sport in the world where that can actually happen. Until other leagues reach that parity (the NBA and MLB being the worst offenders), the draft system will be flawed. __________________ "Think I'm gonna be the scapegoat for the whole damn machine? Sheeee......."