NBA Adopting Anti-Tanking Rules?

The good news is that the proposal is reportedly on the table once the next CBA goes into effect: “The plan for a play-in tournament to determine the eighth playoff seed in each conference was the topic of ‘healthy debate’ at the NBA competition committee’s meeting Friday during All-Star weekend, one source present at the meeting said. The idea probably won’t come up for discussion again until after a new CBA is ratified because it would involve adding games to the schedule, another person in the meeting said. The tournament was proposed by Denver Nuggets general manager Mark Warkentien in response to an invitation from commissioner David Stern, who had solicited ideas from committee members about how to spice up the final weeks of the regular season. Under the plan, the top seven teams in each conference would be seeded for the playoffs as they are now. Teams finishing 8-15 in each conference would play a three-day, single-elimination tournament with the winner being awarded the eighth seed. In addition to providing more drama, the tournament would theoretically reduce the temptation for teams that are out of playoff contention to rest players and lose games in an effort to secure a chance at a better draft position.”