The NBA is considering draft lottery reform. The league tried this three years ago, toward the beginning of the Hinkie Gambit in Philadelphia, but proposed too strong a medicine for a supermajority of franchise owners to take.
Who are the NBA’s tanking candidates?
Good morning. We have that and more in Tuesday’s NBA newsletter.
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The dose is milder this time — read up on its impacts here — and based on what smart people are saying, its adoption is likely. It’s not clear whether it would go into effect immediately or be delayed until the 2019 NBA draft lottery.
That leads us to wonder: If it were to take effect immediately, what teams will have to think twice about tanking this season?
The Kings are going to be bad: There are no two ways about it. The Nets, whose pick belongs to the Cavaliers now, will also be bad. Vegas over/under odds have the Suns in that same range, and the Bulls and Hawks even worse.
There will be a surprise team in that mix, too: Someone will suffer an injury or some combustible mix will go haywire. The Pacers, for example, or Knicks or long-tortured Magic could slip to the bottom of the standings. There will probably need to be one more very bad West team, as well. Will it be the Lakers again, or the Pelicans (please no), or the Mavericks? Time will tell.
None of these teams is in a position to decide whether to fight for a playoff spot or tank right now: Only fortune can save them. But if the rules do go into effect right away, it will be interesting to see what trades do or don’t get made as teams prep for the race to the bottom.
The semifinals of the WNBA playoffs begin Tuesday night. Diana Taurasi, who never loses do-or-die games, carried the Mercury there to face the Sparks. The Mystics rode Kristi Toliver’s Curryian shooting — nine threes in an elimination game! — to get to a series against the Lynx. This is going to be good. Mystics-Lynx is at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2; Mercury-Sparks follows at 10. Get full coverage at Swish Appeal.
This is fun. Kevin Durant, who might be taking this “KD is not nice” thing a little too far, trashed Under Armour shoes on Bill Simmons’ podcast recently. So a reporter asked Steph Curry about it. It appears Curry was annoyed enough to talk to Durant! I’m just here for Klay Thompson jumping in to defend Anta during future arguments.
Speaking of beef: Paul Pierce and Ray Allen have buried the hatchet! Of course, they had to take it out of Ray’s back first ...
How Kyrie Irving will evolve in Boston. A farewell to Kyrie in Ohio.
Luka Doncic is having a tournament over in Europe.
Loved Ricky O’Donnell’s exegesis on Tracy McGrady’s futuristic tendencies. And I’m always in the mood for some T-Mac highlights.
In addition to those tanking rules, the NBA is also looking to legislate around resting stars for national TV games. It’s all about making sure LeBron and the Warriors play when fans expect them to play. The fact that it’s all about LeBron and the Warriors speaks to one of the NBA’s challenges, though ...
Malik Monk’s ankle injury sounds like an ongoing problem.
So much for peace: Charles Oakley is reportedly going to sue James Dolan and the Knicks.
Shout out to Tim Duncan for his efforts to raise funds for his native U.S. Virgin Islands in the wake of Irma. Duncan rarely uses his platform to get attention; of course he would leverage it now. One of the best ever.
We’ve reached the quarterfinals of EuroBasket 2017. No shockers so far, though Germany edging France in the Round of 16 to reach Tuesday’s Spain challenge is interesting. Latvia vs. Slovenia is the most intriguing game, and it tips off at 2:30 p.m. ET.
The Grindfather is a Pelican. Memphis says goodbye.
Sweet story on married WNBA players DeWanna Bonner and Candice Dupree’s decision to raise newborns together during their careers.
I, regrettably, didn’t know anything about old Black Fives era star Zack Clayton until he was being inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday. This David Aldridge piece fills in the picture.
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