Section 215
Fansided

Philadelphia 76ers: NBA looks to reform NBA Draft, hopes to limit “tanking”

By Brendon McCullin

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 22: The draft board is seen displaying picks 1 through 30 after the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft at Barclays Center on June 22, 2017 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 22: The draft board is seen displaying picks 1 through 30 after the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft at Barclays Center on June 22, 2017 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
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Sam Hinkie and his Process continues to scare the NBA. With the league potentially adopting NBA Draft reforms, how does it affect the Philadelphia 76ers?

In typical fashion, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski spiced up the NBA’s dead season with a report that Adam Silver and the NBA are again considering changing the draft lottery rules.

What does the latest Woj Bomb mean for the Philadelphia 76ers? Let’s take a look.

The Silver Plan

Per Wojnarowski’s report, at the heart of the league’s plan is a leveling out of the odds for the first three picks in the NBA Draft Lottery. Right now, the team with the worst record has a 25 percent chance at the top spot, the team with the second worst record has a 19.9 percent shot, and the third worst record checks in at 15.6 percent.

Under the NBA’s proposal, the teams with the three worst records would all have an equal chance at the first overall pick. The second part would be allowing those teams to drop a little further in the lottery.

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Currently, the team with the worst record can drop no lower than fourth. Silver’s plan would make it possible for that team to drop one additional spot to fifth, with the other teams affected similarly.

Too Much in the Tank

The NBA has been concerned about the lottery ever since Sam Hinkie started The Process. The league tried before to change the rules back in 2014, but the measure didn’t pass. That plan, though, was more radical than the one that Wojnarowski is reporting. It would’ve made it far easier for teams at the back end of the lottery to jump into a top spot, something that made small market teams nervous. Not surprisingly, the Philadelphia 76ers were against that proposal.

Despite the dramatic overreaction that the NBA had to Hinkie’s ideas for improving his roster by fielding a team that was purposefully bereft of talent, the fact is that the world hasn’t ended. Teams, specifically Minnesota, have tanked just as hard as the Philadelphia 76ers, but they were willing to keep up the charade of trying that the NBA prefers.

Perhaps the biggest fallacy of The Process is just how bad the Sixers were. While it was painful for Philly fans to watch as Brett Brown tried to duct tape a lineup together, the team only finished with the worst record once.

It cost him his job, but when Hinkie doubled-down on his theory to put the team in the best position to draft Ben Simmons, it was absolutely the right thing to do. We might not know exactly how good Simmons will be, but it’s already been proven that there wasn’t much talent after him in the 2016 NBA Draft.