Dec. 27, 2025, 2:31 p.m. ET
The Brooklyn Nets are playing their best basketball as of late with how much they have improved on the defensive end of the floor since the beginning of the season. Brooklyn is still in the early stage of its rebuild and as a result, the draft is still the most important facet for the franchise, but it’s possible that the NBA could be looking to tweak how teams rebuild.
“The NBA tells its 30 franchises today that the league has undertaken a renewed review of league policy changes concerning “tanking” — such as potential modifications to rules regarding Draft pick protections, revised Draft lottery rules, and other approaches,” ESPN’s Shams Charania reported earlier this month. Based on Charania’s reporting, it seems that the NBA is trying to influence how teams are rewarded for being among the worst teams.
As of this writing, the teams with the three worst records in the league by the end of the season have the same odds of getting the first overall pick in the draft (14%), the NBA’s way to discourage teams from being the worst team. Despite the fact that the probabilities have shifted to the point that some teams don’t benefit from finishing with the worst record, such as the Utah Jazz from last season, franchises still find it worth it to invest in the draft.
As it stands, there doesn’t seem to be any reporting to show how the NBA is leaning towards fixing tanking in some meaningful given that draft pick protections and Lottery rules could mean a number of tactics. Regarding the Nets, it’s clear that the organization is hoping for a high draft pick, Nets owner Joe Tsai essentially said the quiet part out loud, but how they get to that point will be the interesting situation to monitor.
Heading into Saturday’s game at the Minnesota Timberwolves, Brooklyn is projected to have the sixth overall pick in the draft, meaning they would presumably be out of range to select players like Kansas guard Darryn Peterson or BYU forward AJ Dybantsa. While teams like the Indiana Pacers and Washington Wizards are understandably bad for valid reasons, it’s a surprise to see teams like the Sacramento Kings, New Orleans Pelicans, and Los Angeles Clippers with worst records than the Nets.
Some pundits have speculated that Brooklyn will have to change something about the team if it is going to lose enough to have a better chance at a premium pick, such as trading forward Michael Porter Jr. While general manager Sean Marks and/or Tsai considers tearing the team down to the studs prior to the February trade deadline remains to be seen, they should also keep in mind that the league could be looking to tweak the process.