Silver presses GMs on anti-tanking reforms during video call
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NBA Commissioner Adam Silver used a Thursday video conference with all 30 general managers to deliver a pointed warning against tanking, sources told The Athletic’s Joe Vardon and Sam Amick.
According to the report, the session focused on potential rules for the 2026-27 season aimed at reducing deliberate losing. Silver emphasized league integrity throughout the call, adopting a tone some executives compared to former commissioner David Stern.
Tension rose when Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks objected to certain ideas under the mistaken belief they would take effect immediately. Marks, whose club is rebuilding and expects a high 2026 draft pick, was reminded that any changes would begin with the new league year in July. “You could assume for next season your only incentive will be to win games,” Silver told him.
Silver also sparred with another GM over whether coaches endorse tanking strategies. When the executive said team coaches “are on board with our plan,” Silver replied, “They say they’re on board because they have to. When we talk to coaches, no one wants to go in there and try to lose on purpose.”
Some general managers noted they must submit long-term rebuilding plans to ownership, which can encourage prolonged losing and provide job security. Silver responded that such thinking needs to change.
Proposals discussed included limiting draft-pick protections, barring teams from holding top-four selections in consecutive years, and prohibiting conference finalists from drafting in the top four. The league is soliciting additional ideas from every franchise.
More than half of the GMs offered suggestions during the call, which participants described as productive despite occasional friction. “Overwhelmingly, everyone realizes changes are coming and they need to come,” one executive told The Athletic. “It’s a matter of when and what and how.”
Source: Hoops Rumors
