The Brooklyn Nets have made great strides on the defensive end since the beginning of the season and are playing some of their best basketball in a while. Brooklyn is still in the early stages of rebuilding, so the draft remains the most important aspect of the team, but the NBA may consider adjusting how the team rebuilds.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported earlier this month: “The NBA informed its 30 teams today that the league has re-examined changes to league policy regarding ‘tanking,’ such as possible changes to draft pick protection rules, revised draft lottery rules and other methods.” According to Charania’s reporting, the NBA appears to be trying to influence how it rewards its worst teams.
advertise
As of this writing, the three teams with the league’s worst records at the end of the season have the same odds (14%) of landing the No. 1 pick in the draft, which is the NBA’s way of stopping teams from becoming the worst. Despite the fact that the odds have shifted to the point where some teams can’t benefit from their worst record, such as the Utah Jazz last season, teams still believe it’s worth investing in the draft.
As it stands, there don’t appear to be any reports indicating how the NBA is leaning toward fixing the tanking problem in some meaningful way, as draft pick protection and lottery rules could mean a variety of strategies. As for the Nets, it’s clear the organization wants to land a high draft pick, with Nets owner Joe Tsai basically saying the quiet parts out loud, but how they get to that point will be an interesting situation to watch.
Brooklyn is expected to receive the sixth overall pick in the draft heading into Saturday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, which means they may not be able to select players like Kansas guard Darin Peterson or BYU forward AJ Dybantsa. While it’s understandable that teams like the Indiana Pacers and Washington Wizards are underperforming for the right reasons, it’s surprising to see teams like the Sacramento Kings, New Orleans Pelicans, and Los Angeles Clippers with worse records than the Nets.
Some experts have speculated that Brooklyn would have to make some changes to the team if it were to lose enough talent to have a better chance of acquiring quality draft picks, such as by trading forward Michael Porter Jr. While it remains to be seen whether general manager Sean Marks and/or Tsai consider tearing the team apart before the February trade deadline, they should also keep in mind that the league may look to adjust the process.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Will the Nets be negatively affected by the NBA’s review failure?
