1 hour ago
I think the reduced odds for the worst teams of getting a top pick has helped.
Zach Lowe has been talking for months about reducing the pick swap protections. Dallas #10 a few years ago. Utah and Washington this year. This appears to be the biggest issue. Bad/average teams with pick protections reach a point in the season where they think "Really, what in the world are we trying to win games for, when our pick is top 8 protected and we aren't going anywhere". Eliminate this and you may fix a lot of it. Maybe allow top 3 protected or something less obvious.
I think bad teams will typically struggle down the stretch. The season is long. Players are looking forward to summer. Teams will prioritize development. At least now with the changed lottery odds, that when a fanbase and team clearly tank for a lot of the year and then drops in the lottery, you can look at them and say "was wasting a year with that garbage worth it""
Zach Lowe has been talking for months about reducing the pick swap protections. Dallas #10 a few years ago. Utah and Washington this year. This appears to be the biggest issue. Bad/average teams with pick protections reach a point in the season where they think "Really, what in the world are we trying to win games for, when our pick is top 8 protected and we aren't going anywhere". Eliminate this and you may fix a lot of it. Maybe allow top 3 protected or something less obvious.
I think bad teams will typically struggle down the stretch. The season is long. Players are looking forward to summer. Teams will prioritize development. At least now with the changed lottery odds, that when a fanbase and team clearly tank for a lot of the year and then drops in the lottery, you can look at them and say "was wasting a year with that garbage worth it""