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NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is said to have weighed abolishing the NBA draft.
It has become the in-vogue suggestion on handling the thorny issue of tanking in the NBA. Since the draft is designed to help weaker teams rebuild, and since teams that are not all that weak are manipulating the system so as to grab higher picks or keep protected picks, why not just abolish the NBA draft as we know it?
The thinking is that teams won’t have an incentive to lose intentionally if there is no draft, and that players coming out of college can join teams by picking where they want to sign–essentially, free agency. Commissioner Adam Silver is said to be open to that possibility of getting rid of the draft, but some have apparently misinterpreted where he is coming from.
Silver would consider abolishing the draft only if there are no other ways to handle the problem. And there are still plenty of ways to address the problem, including further tinkering with the lottery, preventing teams from landing Top 10 picks in consecutive years, creating a system of compensatory picks–there is a lot that is being considered.
Abolishing the NBA Draft Is a ‘Non-Starter’
As The Athletic’s Joe Vardon reported, abolishing the draft is not on the docket: “There were numerous meetings among league officials this week to discuss tanking remedies, and, of the approximately 10 solutions discussed, the outright abolition of the rookie draft was not among them, one of those officials said.”
There are a number of reasons for this, according to one NBA executive.
“Keep in mind that we have trades outstanding where teams have dealt picks in 2032,” the exec said. “What are you gonna tell them? Sorry, the draft is canceled? You could say the draft is canceled starting in 2033, but the NBA does not want to wait seven years to fix this. So, it’s a non-starter, really.
“The other thing is, the draft is a money-maker. It gives the NBA a TV show in late June. They don’t want to lose that revenue. The players do not want to lose that revenue. Whenever there is an idea the first thing you’ve got to say is, will the league make more money on this or lose more? If the answer is lose, the idea does not have a chance.”
What’s Wrong With Paolo Banchero?
One of the big disappointments this NBA season has been the play of the Orlando Magic, and especially star forward Paolo Banchero. The Magic pulled off a massive trade for Desmond Bane last offseason, and the thinking was that Bane would be the piece to put the team over the hump, especially in a watered-down East.
It hasn’t happened. Banchero indicated, in another Athletic article, that there were issues half-court offensive system. The Magic are just 28-25, No. 7 in the East. Asked about the Magic offense, Banchero said: “I think our record answers that question, honestly. I’m not going to sit here and harp on the problems with our offense or what I think is wrong with our offense. But I don’t think anyone would say that it’s where it should be or could be.”
But others see an issue with Banchero’s performance itself, as well as a change in how Banchero is deployed. He had a groin injury early in the season, and has not played well since there. His scoring is way down, at 21.3 points, down from 25.9 last year.
“He does not move all that well,” one Eastern Conference assistant coach said. “That’s the thing you notice. I think they wanted him to put on muscle and play closer to the rim and that’s maybe a good idea in theory but not in reality. What makes him unique is that he is 6-foot-10 and can attack you from the perimeter. If you take that away, he becomes a more average player.”
There remains a concern, then, that if Banchero is a 6-foot-10 perimeter big man, then he is just too repetitive with the team’s other 6-foot-10 perimeter big man, Franz Wagner. It has not come to this year, but there is a real chance the Magic could be forced to examine the trade market for either Wagner or Banchero.
Trey Murphy, Herb Jones Update
Running back this note from a previous pile of rumors, ICYMI: Despite chatter about summer deals, the Pelicans could well disappoint the league again on top trade targets like Trey Murphy and Herb Jones, who drew the interest of the Lakers, Warriors and others.
The Pels may want to see what their team looks like when healthy next season.
“They could change course but they were pretty clear that they want to build on what they have and not tear it down,” one Eastern Conference exec said. “A lot of teams made good offers for Trey Murphy, and I don’t think the offers are necessarily going to get better in the future. So if they did not trade him in February, I don’t think they will all of a sudden in June.”
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney
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