[armchairgmParticipant]

THOUGHTS? (I am stealing this idea by the way from a guy I know). The 8 NBA teams not invited to Disney play a tournament in Vegas or somewhere winner takes 1st pick, 2nd takes second pick, etc down to pick 8. Make the bottom 8 teams play it out for the top 8 picks. I actually like the idea alot.

[sniperParticipant]

From a basketball-fan perspective it’s a great idea. From a there’s-a-pandemic-going-on perspective, not so much. It’s not worth putting a bunch of people in close proximity.

For the same reason I thought the NBA should have gone straight to the playoffs with the current top 16 teams. All of this drama to decide who gets the privilege of getting steamrolled in the first round by the Lakers or Bucks — it’s not worth the risk.

[OhCanada-Participant]

Should happen every year. Get rid of the last 10 games and hold two tournaments instead.

[bt102Participant]

We will see about that. I’m not as sold on the #1 pick idea, they would have to give the worst teams some advantage, because some teams actually do care, but just suck. I feel like if a team is geniually bad, they could be stuck there for a long time while 7-8th worst teams keep getting the #1 pick. Sure there could be upsets, but if it were to happen this year, GSW would win and go against Atlanta in the finals more than likely. This could end up just rewarding injured teams more than they should.

[BothTeamsPlayedHard-Participant]

“I feel like if a team is genuinely bad, they could be stuck there for a long time”… as opposed to the current format?
Charlotte has missed the playoffs eight of ten years, and haven’t been to the 2nd round since 2002. New York has missed the playoffs seven years running… hehehe Zion, KD and Kyrie!!! They had a three year run with Melo, Amare, and Felton where they made the playoffs, but before that was a decade where they missed it nine out of ten years. Assuming Phoenix doesn’t catch the 8-spot, they will have missed the playoffs in ten straight years. Sacramento might be going on fourteen years. Minnesota has missed the playoffs in fifteen of the last sixteen years. I don’t think it is wise to do it this year given that they are experimenting in running a league during a pandemic, but eventually the league ought to do away with the lottery balls in order to end the scourge of noncompetitive teams cutting payroll, getting fat on shared revenue, and selling hope instead of competence. If the league was fine with three of last year’s top four going to 33-37 win teams, then why not have a knockout tournament to determine the top four when the world gets back to something closer to normal?

[Scrooge McDuckParticipant]

It would be more rational to tank for the fringe playoff teams in this case. Which is ok, watching little known players and prospects is refreshing! But would it be good for NBA revenue?

[BothTeamsPlayedHard-Participant]

No mediocre .400-.450 team is going to bank on their ability to win three games in a row, especially if they take their foot off the pedal. Fans and media don’t get fired for missing the playoffs. GMs and coaches do. If you get the 8-seed in a normal year, your team gets two or three home playoff gates, which is a considerable financial boost. It helps sell tickets and sponsorship for the next year. It is still worth millions to make the playoffs. If you finish 9th and lose in a knockout game to Collin Sexton having a night (and the awful Cavs have beaten the Blazers, Wizards, Spurs, Grizzlies, Bulls, and Hornets this year) then you have an extra reminder of just how mediocre your team was. Add to that, the bottom teams should get better as the incentive to get as many lottery balls decreases.

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