The NBA is weighing tougher measures against teams that deliberately lose games, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
Alongside pending draft-lottery adjustments, league officials are discussing new rules that would allow fines in the multimillion-dollar range and the potential loss or relocation of draft picks. Under the proposal, a club caught manipulating lineups to improve its draft odds could see its first-round selection pushed to the end of the lottery, dropped to the final pick of the round, or removed entirely.
The conversation follows the league’s February decision to fine the Utah Jazz $500,000 for benching forwards Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. during consecutive fourth quarters, conduct the NBA deemed detrimental to the game.
Three separate lottery-reform models were presented to the Board of Governors at meetings held this week. League sources told The Athletic that altering the lottery alone will not eliminate tanking, prompting the push for more severe penalties.
“Without stricter penalties, you could still have crazy behavior,” one league source said. “You have to have something in place that is so drastic, a team would actually think twice about tanking.”
The envisioned system would resemble the current player participation policy, escalating from fines to harsher sanctions for repeat offenses. The Board of Governors is scheduled to reconvene in May to debate and vote on the proposed anti-tanking framework.
Source: Hoops Rumors
