NBA commissioner Adam Silver isn’t afraid to say what’s on his mind.
Maybe the only commissioner who doesn’t get booed when he walks to the podium for a draft, Silver has passed with flying colors so far while leading the Association thanks to his openness and willing to tackle problems head on.
Soon he might address the NBA draft lottery.
Silver recently had a candid interview with the Dan Patrick Show on the topic:
“We put the lottery in place precisely (to prevent against tanking), and that was well over 30 years ago because teams seemingly had this huge incentive to finish at the bottom because the value of these draft picks is so high,” Silver said. “We’ve tinkered with the draft lottery five times in the last 30 years, but we’re still not at the point where it’s frankly working.”
It’s no secret the NBA has a tanking problem thanks to how the lottery works. The mentioned team right now, of course, is the Philadelphia 76ers. But we’re a long way off from finding out whether the tanking plan put on there actually works out.
Either way, Silver talked about the differences between other leagues and the NBA:
“(The lottery is) not working,” Silver said. “It is a bit of a problem in this league when there’s a free-rider issue too because in all the major leagues in the United States, each team gets an equal share of the national television money whether or not you’re the champion or finish 30th in the standings.”
As the interview itself notes, there isn’t an easy fix for the current problem. It kicked around a few ideas, though Silver dodged identifying a strategy the league might actually consider.
Fans should at least be happy to hear this remains a topic of discussion. Silver, like most, might not have a surefire answer—but a willingness to talk about the problem is the first step.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
