Mike1989 wrote:The best way to solve tanking is to....
.... change the dynamic of the entire talent pool.
No matter how you change the odds, there is a real and consistent talent scarcity at the NBA level.
1) The league talent pool is HEIGHT DEPENDENT. How many American males are even 6 feet tall or over? ( 12 percent) Eliminate all those out of the baseline need age range. Eliminate those with health issues, people in jail, mentally ill, etc.
2) The league talent pool is ATHLETICISM DEPENDENT AGAINST A HARD FLOOR. So take the pool from Category 1, which is narrow, less than 1 percent. Then wipe out anyone who cannot function athletically at the NBA level.
Changing the odds doesn't change the fact that maybe 1-2 impact players show up every draft. Maybe. Most teams don't have access to those players.
You cannot make people grow taller or faster , not at the rate needed by the NBA.
Here's a social problem no one wants to talk about. The core of the talent in the NBA, look at the demographic. When they marry or have children, are they picking the most athletically gifted woman they can find? No, like all men, they want a chick who is young, fit and hot and isn't too much of a pain in the @ss. Sorry, guys, a 6'7 super male athlete who marries and has kids with a 5'6 chick ( probably white) who looks good in a bikini, that's not producing the next super athlete. JaVale McGee is an example of what happens when you have two super athletes having kids. Well most of the time.
You must structure the game to be more efficient with the current structure of the talent available.
That means a Landry Fields, a Adam Morrison, a Jimmer Fredette. These guys would do better if
A) There was a 4 point shot. Then a 5 point shot for half court shots
B) There were 7 man starting lineups
C) The rim was raised
D) The floor was longer and wider
E) The shot clock was reduced
F) The officiating crews had 8 man teams
G) Hand checking to return
H) Widespread use of non guaranteed contracts and a hard cap
I) Expanded rosters
J) A compensation system for lost free agents
You need functional ways for teams to build and win with MULTIPLE AVENUES of approach.
The current system is busted. It has no market inefficiencies. It's too punitive to GMs and coaches.
Changing the lottery odds does nothing. You need to change the structure of the game to fit a wider use of the potential talent pool. You need to drive out the 7 foot plodder and much functional heights by positional value lower. The NFL and MLB function because they can fit different physical types on their rosters. The NBA is super limited into only a very few archtypes for their talent pool.