Sources: NBA eyes new ways to combat tanking

The NBA has begun to gather input from its owners and general managers on new ways to combat tanking in the aftermath of the gambling scandal that rocked the league at the start of the season, sources told ESPN. At a board of governors meeting Friday, the league presented several ideas around potential modifications to rules regarding draft pick protections, the draft lottery and other possible approaches, according to multiple sources. The league rolled out new policies Friday to combat insider information and performance manipulation in the wake of federal indictments of Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier , Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and former player Damon Jones . But the league is also increasing its focus on tanking, due to its tie to the injury reporting rules and how those were exploited by gamblers seeking inside information, according to the government indictments. In recent years, multiple teams have either shut down players early or sat players for games to try to improve their draft positioning, often tied to a protected pick. Sources said multiple ideas were proposed as a brainstorming measure to combat tanking, including: • Limiting pick protections to either top four or 14 and higher, which would eliminate the problematic mid-lottery protections. • No longer allowing a team to draft in the top four two years in a row. • Locking lottery positions after March 1. These ideas, which came from the league and its high-ranking officials, would theoretically dissuade non-playoff teams from sitting their starters for games throughout the season and provide reason to continue to try to win games, particularly down the stretch of a campaign. As multiple sources described, the attempts to find solutions to tanking are not intended to deter rebuilding teams who use their players as normal, but rather teams that deliberately manipulate their rosters down the stretch of a season in order to land a higher pick or a protection range. The NBA last changed the lottery rules in 2019, giving the three worst teams in the regular season the same 14% odds to land the first overall pick, and a 52.1% chance of landing in the top four. Since then, three teams have jumped from outside the top five best odds to land the top pick, including the Atlanta Hawks (10th) and Dallas Mavericks (11th) each of the past two seasons. In addition to the ideas for combating tanking, the league office presented to the board of governors several examples of protected picks potentially impacting the finish of recent seasons. One of the most blatant incidents occurred in April 2023, when the Mavericks were still mathematically alive for a play-in spot but owed a top-10 protected 2023 first-round pick to the New York Knicks . Dallas elected to rest Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic in its last game against the San Antonio Spurs . In the previous game against the Chicago Bulls , Irving did not play and Doncic played 12 minutes. The Mavericks lost both games. The Mavericks...

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