Proposed Overhaul Of The NBA Draft Would Eliminate Tanking. Should NHL consider?

[Joborule]

So how does it work? It's pretty simple: every NBA team's draft picks are laid out 30 years in advance. Each team occupies a draft slot as represented on The Wheel, moving one spot to the right each successive season. So if a team has the first overall pick one year, it's next five draft picks will be 30, 19, 18, 7, and 6.

As you can see, the idea is to get every team at least a top-six pick every five years. This would give good-to-great teams chances to reload, and it would give bad teams a tangible pick to look forward to, rather than having to play the lottery odds. Most importantly, though, this system would eliminate tanking entirely. Whether a team is bad or good would have absolutely no bearing on its draft position.

http://deadspin.com/proposed-overhau...ank-1488525333

What do you think? Is it something the NHL should consider?

[SuperMatt18]

I like that it doesn't reward tanking and being a terrible team.

I don't like that it takes away the suspense around trading a future first round pick and seeing where that might end up. You already know where you are picking.

[saXon]

Spin to win.

[Knut]

I think it is much easier to make it so that you can only win the lottery once every 5 years.

[GirlySports]

i don't like it. sure teams shouldn't tank but bad teams do need some help in particular years.

The NFL isn't worried about tanking why are the NHL and NBA so concerned?

/my lottery is better

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

The NFL isn't worried about tanking why are the NHL and NBA so concerned?

NBA Eastern Conference Standings

[Ashasx]

My problem has never been the bad teams getting high picks. Bad teams NEED high picks; good teams don't.

However, I do have a problem with multiple high picks in a row. I'm sick of seeing Edmonton, Florida, and the Islanders always picking top 5.

I'd like to see something like: You cannot pick 1st overall two years in a row and you cannot pick top 5 three years in a row.

[bubbsy]

i actually really like it. It gives GMs a certainty of what is coming through the pipeline and plan to build their teams accordingly.

I used to be of the opinion that poor teams need the benefit of high picks to become good again, but there are enough examples in the NHL where some teams are in never ending rebuilds. A rebuild cannot be based only on lottery picks for 5 years, but more so how you manage assets and bring in complementary pieces to your roster through FA and trades.

this would force those teams that draft high to need to do what they can thru the other avenues to better themselves, as they won't be drafting high again for sometime.

[PeteMoss]

Tanking is much more prevalent in the NBA than the NHL. Sure team's suck at times in the NHL when rebuilding and they do try to get higher draft picks... but I don't think team's go out of their way to be completely awful like they do in the NBA. In the NBA getting one uber star puts you right in the playoffs... doesn't work that way in hockey.

I suppose its possible teams could go crazy next year for McDavid but up until now its never really been a battle of be the worst.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

Tanking is much more prevalent in the NBA than the NHL. Sure team's suck at times in the NHL when rebuilding and they do try to get higher draft picks... but I don't think team's go out of their way to be completely awful like they do in the NBA. In the NBA getting one uber star puts you right in the playoffs... doesn't work that way in hockey.

I suppose its possible teams could go crazy next year for McDavid but up until now its never really been a battle of be the worst.

In that case the NHL doesn't need to copy every stupid thing the NBA does because the NBA is stupid.

For example, I like the fact the NHL has gone back to a divisional playoff system, at least it's something different from the NBA which is a stupid league.

[bubbsy]

i think this would do well to stop rewarding garbage management, that are incompetent in improving their roster.ger

Lowe was applauded for being patient in his rebuild a few years back, which is ridiculous. He's an idiot, and this strategy would make quick work of making bad management quickly held responsible.

[PeteMoss]

To clarify my point a bit, I don't think you see trades like this in the NHL:

On July 5, Utah acquired center Andris Biedrins, small forward Richard Jefferson, shooting guard Brandon Rush, unprotected first-round picks in 2014 and 2017, two second-round picks, and an undisclosed amount of cash from the Golden State Warriors in exchange for shooting guard Kevin Murphy, trade exceptions, and $24 million in cap relief, which will allow the Oakland-based team to sign free agent small forward Andre Iguodala.

Golden State's pick will be late in the first so not much value. Utah basically just acquired a bunch of garbage so they could suck. Even when rebuilding team's make trades in the NHL - they are trying to get future value back. They aren't making trades just to be terrible and get a higher draft pick.

EDIT: and as mentioned, the Atlantic Division in the NBA where three of the teams are actively trying to suck and the Raptors lead the division at 11-14 is another example.

[Itse]

I like it a lot.
I'm not at all convincend that the current system does much to even up things.

[photon]

I kind of like it, at least from a fairness point of view.

Talent is a limited resource, and having it distributed evenly makes most sense.

Then teams who are competitive enough to never get those 1st overall picks will still get them and get their chance to refresh their prospect pool and get premier players.

One could argue that it will make the strong stronger, but if the strong are strong because they are very good at drafting and developing, then should they be punished just because they're good? The teams with drafting/developing skill will continue to do well, and the teams that aren't will have to improve by getting better at it rather than just lucking out in the draft.

Could also argue that distributing top tier talent around the league would be good for the league overall, gives every team a chance at having a superstar calibre player.

[Senator Clay Davis]

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.

[The Swedish Flame]

I would like to see some sort of system where the top teams are excluded from picking first, or early. Perhaps make a lottery in which all teams outside the playoffs have a reasonable chance of winning the lottery.

[Lanny_McDonald]

I'd like to see a system where if you draft first you drop out of the top five for the next five years. If you've drafted first overall more than once in a row you can never draft first overall again! ;-)

[bubbsy]

CHL/NCAA/European players need to declare draft eligibility?? i thought that simply came with age.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Itse

I like it a lot.
I'm not at all convincend that the current system does much to even up things.

I think it does.

Look at LA's rebuild. They were in the cellar for a decade. Pittsburgh, Boston and Chicago obviously. Islanders made the playoffs last year, Florida won the division in 2012.

There is obviously only one cup but the bad teams are improving. It's still tough to make the playoffs (16/30) and if there is mismanagement, a team falls back a few years. In the Oilers case, forever.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by The Swedish Flame

I would like to see some sort of system where the top teams are excluded from picking first, or early. Perhaps make a lottery in which all teams outside the playoffs have a reasonable chance of winning the lottery.

I did that!!