Institute the 'You're The Worst' Draft

[TheSyndicate]

For 25 seasons, SLOE has tried to get a handle on tanking. The real NBA struggles with it as well. In current state, it IS a somewhat legitimate strategy to build a team. In any given season, some teams will be really good, some teams will be really bad, and that's okay. But let's not give ourselves incentives to be the latter. Every really good GM in this league has had tank/reset/rebuild/whatever years. This proposal ensures no competitive advantage exists for trying to lose.

I had never heard of this proposal before our own commisioner shared it, but it's absolutely what we should do. And it'll eliminate tanking as a strategy as we know it.


How would it work?
On the day before the regular season began, the NBA would hold a “You’re the Worst!” draft. Selection order for the YTW draft would be determined like any standard reverse-order draft—the team that had the worst win-loss record in the previous season would pick first, the team that had the best record would pick last. But the teams wouldn’t be drafting players. They’d be choosing the rights to another team’s position in the next NBA draft.

Example
So, for example, the Lakers, who finished last season with the worst win-loss record, would have the first YTW pick when this (2014) season started. One day before opening day, all of the league’s general managers would participate in a draft. The Lakers would look at the index after the draft, RFA, UFA, and preseason, and decide which team they thought would finish worst in 2014. (They would not be allowed to choose themselves, tempting as that might be.)

Los Angeles general manager TrayWithAnA might predict that the 76ers would be the worst team next season. In which case he would shout, “You’re the worst!” while pointing at 76ers GM BallSoHard, stealing the 76ers’ position in the 2014 NBA draft. If the 76ers indeed finished worst this year, the Lakers would then receive the top pick in the 2014 draft. If the 76ers finished with the third-worst record, the Lakers would receive the No. 3 pick. If they made the playoffs in the final spot, Los Angeles would be stuck with the 15th pick, and Tray would probably be fired.


After Tray picked, NickMalone and the Hornets/Pelicans, with their second-worst record this past season, would look around the room, predict which remaining team might perform most horribly in 2014, and select that team’s 2014 draft pick. Preferably while pointing and shouting, “You’re the next worst!”

In this format there is no draft lottery. So, the 76ers who don't own their own pick, and the Lakers, who don't own their own pick are both incentivized to win as many games as possible to screw the other guy (and improve the picks they do have). Tanking incentives are therefore eliminated, and fun rivalries can commence. Can you imagine the 76ers being able to trade for a star mid-season and not worry about how it might affect their draft status?

Proposal
I. After pre-season runs during the next off-season, hold a YTW draft in reverse order of final standings to choose the owners of 2016 draft picks. You may pick any team's pick other than your own. The 2015 draft will not be impacted.
II. You are not allowed to choose your own team's pick for any selection in this YTW draft including selections you may own from other teams.
III. You may trade for the rights to another team's YTW pick at any time (including during the YTW draft), and this does not affect any ability to trade for any picks during the actual draft.
IV. After this offseason, the draft lottery is eliminated.

To be sure, this system is not perfect. It might take us a few run-throughs to understand and refine, but I think it would be entertaining, and accomplish the goal of eliminating tanking.

I'm sure there's some stuff I'm not thinking of, so feel free to post below and discuss.

[Inner_GI]

Hard pass on this. Controlling your own team and it's results is the point of playing this game.

[TheSyndicate]

Hard pass on this. Controlling your own team and it's results is the point of playing this game.

So do you propose to remove the draft lottery?

[IamQuailman]

I propose no tanking rules. Let people run their shit as they do. I also propose that, as part of no tanking rules, people need to try to quit complaining about "tankers".

[JNR]

I'd prefer no tanking rules. This is an interesting idea but I don't think tanking is something that needs to be fixed.

[garbageman]

Agreeing with consensus so far. Just spitballing, but in this all or nothing league, there are incentives to be really good and incentives to be really bad. Maybe some way to make it as desirable to compete for the 8th seed (other than 2 playoff points) as it would be to compete for being the worst?

[TheSyndicate]

This is the last time I white knight for Wig....

[IamQuailman]

Nah, no thank you. I appreciate the explanation ryan, but I was against this when wig originally tried to pimp this idea. and i'm still against it.

[TheSyndicate]

I just think it'd be fun. I just love the idea of Scott having your pick, and then you trade for someone really good, and he gets mad. But then he ends up making you suck. Because this is what I consider fun

[Inner_GI]

Hard pass on this. Controlling your own team and it's results is the point of playing this game.

So do you propose to remove the draft lottery?

Nope. Happy with the way it is.

[Inner_GI]

Agreeing with consensus so far. Just spitballing, but in this all or nothing league, there are incentives to be really good and incentives to be really bad. Maybe some way to make it as desirable to compete for the 8th seed (other than 2 playoff points) as it would be to compete for being the worst?

I like the sound of this. People tank because they have no incentive to be the Memphis Grizzlies of real NBA. Being good for a decade doesn't really get you anything. The better teams are winning championships and the tankers are getting OP players.

[WigNosy]

Obviously, I like the YTW system, but I'm also of the mind that if teams want to lose, well, go for it, I guess.

[ballsohard]

Agreeing with consensus so far. Just spitballing, but in this all or nothing league, there are incentives to be really good and incentives to be really bad. Maybe some way to make it as desirable to compete for the 8th seed (other than 2 playoff points) as it would be to compete for being the worst?

I think you're on to something here .. make it where there's something so valuable about making the playoffs that the 12 pick isn't worth it .. the teams needing the top pick are never going to be lured out of the draft by these rewards.

[false9]

Pass. We could always institute THE WHEEL