AROUND the NBA:

[michaeltex]

@ShamsCharania
Multiple sources with knowledge of Thursday's GM meeting as well as a late January Competition Committee meeting told ESPN that the following concepts have been discussed to curb tanking:

•First-round picks can be protected only top-4 or top-14+
•Lottery odds freeze at the trade deadline or a later date
•No longer allowing a team to pick top 4 in consecutive years and/or after consecutive bottom-3 finishes
•Teams can’t pick top-4 the year after making conference finals
•Lottery odds allocated based on two-year records
•Lottery extended to include all play-in teams
•Flatten odds for all lottery teams

This might work if everyone was starting with the same draft assets, but how does this work with good teams like SAS and OKC having a mound of picks they acquired by tanking? How does it affect pick swaps?

Also makes zero allowance for the effect of injuries. DAL was a Finals team one year and just missed a top 8 spot last year (thx to MEM), due to injuries. IND was a finals team last year and a lottery team this year, also due to injuries. 

DAL decided late in season a few back to quit trying and ended up getting Lively (and a big fine for Cuban's mouth).

Tanking is an ugly reality and some teams have been too blatant about it (Jazz) so now Silver feels like he has to do something to appease the gambling sector. But any serious bettor paying attention would know who is playing to win and who is playing for lottery balls. So if they choose to bet with that knowledge, it's the chance they take.