‘Abandon the league’ – Adam Silver’s drastic threat to abolish NBA Draft torpedoed by angry fans

The NBA is considering abandoning an American institution.

Every single one of the big four sports has a draft system that gives its worst teams the chance to land top prospects.

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This includes the NBA, which is also one of three to have a lottery system in place. The NFL being the only one whose draft order is solely based on record.

The lottery’s purpose is not to guarantee the worst team the No. 1 pick, but to give the 14 that don’t make the playoffs a chance (some being lower than others) at landing the top selection.

But, it appears it is not as strong a deterrent as it once was, with the Washington Wizards, Utah Jazz, and Indiana Pacers, trading for injured stars and practically stashing them while continuing to lose.

Those three teams have some of the worst records in the NBA this year, and it appears that commissioner Adam Silver is investigating dropping a nuclear option to end the idea of tanking once and for all.

NBA fans call for Silver’s head after he hints at abolishing NBA draft

At the annual All-Star weekend press conference, Silver suggested the idea of abolishing the NBA Draft entirely to try and solve the tanking issue the sport faces.

If Silver were to take such a drastic measure, it would be one of the biggest structural changes in league history, something NBA fans do not want to see.

“Adam Silver needs to be fired. Ever since this man has taken over the NBA, it’s been painful to watch,” One fan wrote after the press conference.

“A perfect way to ruin a childhood dream. I’m sick of Silver man,” Another added.

“Yeah, the large markets would love this. Then small markets would never be able to compete. It’s time to replace this moron,” A third fan wrote

“Adam Silver is the worst commissioner I’ve ever seen in any sport ever,” a fourth added. 

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Silver noted that the draft is designed to help struggling teams rebuild and compete. 

He also questioned whether that purpose is compromised if franchises manipulate outcomes to improve their lottery position.

“I think part of the problem is that if you step back, the fundamental theory behind the draft is to help your worst-performing teams restock and be able to compete,” Silver said

“The issue is if teams are manipulating their performance in order to get higher draft picks, even in a lottery, then the question becomes, even if teams were rewarded for draft picks purely according to predicted odds of the lottery, are they really the worst performing teams?”

In theory, eliminating the draft could take away the incentive for teams to lose on purpose.

But there is no need for panic just yet as all signs point to the NBA continuing to tinker with the current format before the draft ends up in any serious danger.

It’s clear to see that the fight against tanking has become a top priority.

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