Three Solutions that would fix NBA Tanking

 The NBA has a tanking problem. It has had this problem since Michael Jordan was at North Carolina. 40 plus years later that problem has been heightened to a near crisis.

As a fan of a team that is currently in the hellscape that is modern tanking I believe I have some extra incentive, pun intended, to help fix the biggest issue pro basketball has currently. And let’s attack this problem with the assumption that the schedule won’t be shortened (which it should be to 72 games), the rules around load management won’t be curved, and no other rules other than these rules pertaining to “tanking” under the current CBA will be adjusted to help us.

So? How many solutions to stop tanking are there? Well, if you go to social media, listen to talk radio or any basketball related podcasts (mine included), THOUSANDS. How many of those solutions would actually work? Maybe three of them.

The first of which would be getting rid of the NBA Draft entirely and replacing it with rookie free agency. How to make it work to be “fair” to the small markets so teams like Utah, Cleveland, and Portland have some chance of signing the best prospects—there would be a rookie budget for the incoming class of rookies. That budget would be separate from the rest of the salary cap of the rest of the roster. If you’re a baseball fan, it would be like the international money to sign foreign prospects.

This budget would be based on the standings at the end of the NBA Finals. The worst 10 teams would get a rookie slot of say $15 Million to sign incoming rookies. Teams that finish 11-20 would get $12.5 Million to use. And teams that finish 21-30 would have $10 Million. To replace the second round, each team would have an additional $5 Million to sign one more prospect. These rookie contracts would all be four-year contracts except for players who sign on with the 10 worst records. Those teams would get a 5th year option for the incoming prospects like in the NFL for first round draft picks. The contract length is a change from the current contractual system, but it’s a needed change given the money being thrown around here. The money would be set up this way to compete with NIL so that the NBA wouldn’t be completely shut out from gaining the best prospects in a given year. The signing period would happen in between the end of the NBA Finals and the day before the league can start negotiating with unrestricted free agents. In 2026 that would set the rookie signing period from June 21st to June 29th. The rookie budget would also increase each season with the regular salary cap so that incentive would continue to be able to be market competitive.  

Would this method completely curb tanking? No, I don’t believe it would right away. Some teams would continue to live at the bottom of the league to get the most amount of money to try to sign the best prospect. But, over time it would drastically change the way the entire league is structured. It would give the power almost completely to the players entering the league and flip the dynamic that is set up by the draft system. Before, the players eligible in the draft had no input on where their professional career would start. With this system, every incoming prospect would get their own version of LeBron James’ “Decision.” It would also tap into an aspect of college football that is extremely popular—National Signing Day, where the top players of each recruiting class declare what campus they will be taking their talents to.

Just imagine if this rookie signing period existed this year! Watching the decisions that AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer, and Caleb Wilson make about where to play next season would be incredible. Yes, the rookie signing period would be tilted to the teams at the top of the standings and the team that just won the NBA Finals, but I don’t believe it would be that drastic that the small market teams would be completely incapable of getting better. Is this option crazy? Absolutely! Is it drastic—yes but we need to be. Practical? Probably not, but man would be fascinating theater.

Option two for ending tanking in the NBA is far simpler: give every team the same lottery odds no matter where they finish in the standings at the end of the year. That would mean that the league and its fans would have to be okay with the possibility of the team that just won the championship ending up with the number one overall pick. It is a necessary evil possibility if the league wants to keep the draft in place. The firestorm that would follow such a circumstance would be utterly insufferable and almost improbably bring us back to a similar conversation like this about the draft and what to do. But giving every team the same odds would be the fairest use of the lottery system to ensure that teams try their hardest throughout the entire season. This rule change would be better if the schedule is shortened by 10 to 12 games, but we already established we cannot do that. Given the circumstances we are playing with—this in my opinion is the best way to change as little as possible with the current league and put an end to tanking.  

Option three is seen as the third rail in North American professional sports: Relegation. Extreme, yes, but so is the current problem in the NBA where some teams have completely punted on the season before the year even began. How relegation in the NBA would work is: the bottom four teams record wise in each season would fall to the G-League and the top four teams in the G-League—following the G-League playoffs would rise to the NBA. If there are ties for teams record wise in the NBA, the determining factor in relegation would be the home record between those teams, if those are the same then it would be point differential. For example, using last years’ standings here’s how relegation would have worked out. The New Orleans Pelicans, Charlotte Hornets, Washington Wizards, and Utah Jazz would have been relegated to the G-League. The G-League teams that would have moved up to the NBA would have been the Stockton Kings, Austin Spurs, Osceola Magic, and Maine Celtics. Now a couple things here. First, those teams relegated or moving up would be subject to relegation the following season if they fall within the marks of demarcation. There is no safety net to get acclimated to higher competition. Second, we would need to completely get rid of the lottery system and the teams moving up to the NBA would get the first four picks in the draft with the Champion of the G-League getting the first pick, runner up second, and the third and fourth picks would be decided by the regular season record of the teams in the conference championship of the G-League, the records are identical than the tie breaker would be point differential. In this case here’s how the 2025 draft would have looked at the top: Stockton (G-League Champion), Osceola (G-League Runner-up), Austin (22-12), Maine (21-13). Third, there would be relegation clauses in the contracts for the highest paid players on the teams getting relegated that could be exercised. Fourth, the team names of 12 G-League teams would need to be changed so as to not have confusion if say the Stockton Kings played the Sacramento Kings in a game. Fifth, two-way contracts would need to be a thing of the past and each G-League team would operate as its own independent league with a separate draft and free agency.  And finally, sixth, the NBA would work with the teams moving up and down in the respective leagues geographically to the best of their ability to keep the same number of teams in each conference and cut down on travel. A lot to digest, I know. This option for tanking would be the most extreme but it would get the NBA closer to the most popular league in the world—the Premier League. This solution would also scare the daylights out of front offices because if the team you’re in charge of gets relegated out of the NBA it most likely means the job you currently hold will be gone. Also, allowing relegation clauses in contracts would add in extra talent to every free agent class and restore the free agency frenzy of years’ past.

The trickiest part would be reshaping the G-League. How the league would survive without the direct connection to NBA teams would be an interesting dynamic. Although, the incentive of getting the top draft pick because of winning the G-League Championship I think would be an incredible quirk to watch every season. Yes, sending the top prospects to the smallest of markets would open a can of worms that I don’t think even the smartest basketball people are prepared for, but over time, I do think it would ultimately work out. Contracts for rookies would need to be reconfigured and whether or not to include relegation clauses in those contracts would be an ugly fight that the league would have in CBA negotiations but we’re getting way too far into the weeds.

Is tanking the only issue facing professional basketball, no, of course not. But it is the great wall that is obstructing the NBA from realizing the hype they promote from the most recent television deal signed last summer. The frustration the casual fan feels watching their favorite team not try is palpable. This frustration has been bubbling recently since “The Process” that Sam Hinkie and the Philadelphia 76’ers tried more than a decade ago. Now, having 10 teams in danger of finishing under .500 with 25 games or so left in the season is unacceptable. Last year 15 teams or half of the league finished under .500 trying to tank to get the opportunity to get Cooper Flagg. Having that many teams actively trying to lose is unsustainable and the record viewership will decrease faster than a sinkhole if the NBA doesn’t change the incentive to lose.

Shams Charania has reported that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will enact new rules surrounding teams suspected of tanking but even that report rings hollow given Silver’s Laissez-faire attitude toward punishing teams. Silver hasn’t disciplined the Clippers for the Kawhi Leonard situation and that was first reported in October. Whatever solution Silver does decide to utilize it must be the harshest rule change Silver has enacted because of what’s at stake. Historically the NBA has made it through every fork in the road they’ve been faced with. It has never been easy, and tanking is no different. The ball is now in the hands of Adam Silver and the clock is winding down quickly.