Quote:
Originally Posted by Bingo
I think we're in an interesting time period when it comes to tanking in that we have a new system but we haven't seen an instance play out yet.
I think if 2 of the three top 3 picks go to teams out of the top three it could really change things going forward. What's the point in being as bad as you can be and then end up 6th instead of 3rd
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It's still better to finish as low as possible because it gives you better odds in the lottery, and even if you lose the lottery, you won't fall back as far. If you're 30th and you drop 3 spots, you're still getting a better pick than if you finish 27th and drop 3 spots.
Even if this year's lottery is won by the team with a 6% chance of winning, it will still be better to have a 20% chance of winning next year than a 6% chance.
The only way to eliminate the incentive to finish lower in the standings is to flatten the lottery odds and assign each of the first 14 picks through the lottery. If your place in the standings has no impact on your draft position, then there's no incentive to be as bad as possible. Otherwise, there will always be some incentive to finish lower.