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The NBA has discussed altering its draft lottery system as
soon as next season, but they are reportedly receiving some resistance from the
team that such a move may affect the most, according to ESPN.
The 76ers, who are facing another struggle of a season in
2014-15, are fighting changes that would balance the lottery odds and work as
sort of an ‘anti-tanking’ measure.
As currently constructed, the team that finishes with the
league’s worst record has a 25% chance of landing the top pick in the lottery. In
the new proposed format, the bottom few teams would all have an equal chance at
getting the top pick.
Not surprisingly the Sixers, who are in the midst of a
multi-season rebuild dependent on securing high draft picks, are opposed to the
proposed changes, and want them delayed by at least a single season.
The Sixers are seeking a push-back of the proposal by at
least a year because if instituted this season, they feel that it would work as
a de-facto punishment for their performance, while they have just been playing
by the ready-established rules, according to the report.
The organization shouldn’t expect support from across the
league’s landscape however, as the team’s recent struggles have minimized
revenues from one of the league’s larger markets, and hasn’t sat well with some
other teams.
With two lottery picks from the 2014 Draft not expected to
play a second for the Sixers this season, and over $30 million in unused cap
space, it is clear that the team has no immediate intention to contend.
With their rebuild reliant on adding more top talent through
the draft, the team’s opposition to the overhaul is not surprising.
The proposed changes could be voted into place at the NBA
Board of Governors’ preseason meeting in October.
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