I have heard different ideas for the NBA to prevent tanking and by far my favorite one I have heard is this one.

Eliminate the draft entirely and go with a hard salary cap. Now tell me what's wrong with that plan?

(03-01-2026 12:18 PM)goofus Wrote:  I have heard different ideas for the NBA to prevent tanking and by far my favorite one I have heard is this one.

Eliminate the draft entirely and go with a hard salary cap. Now tell me what's wrong with that plan?

Players (and their agents) don't want a hard cap.

The PWHL has a system in which teams begin earning "draft order points" once they are mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. The team that ha sthe most draft order points picks first. This gives eliminated teams something to play for each and every game.

I like the PWHL’s effort, but I have to wonder if it just shifts when teams tank.

Let’s say a team knows that they’ve got key players hurt who miss the beginning of the season and they are working with a young core. Management decides to tank immediately out of the gate so they get eliminated as soon as possible, knowing they’ve got impact players coming back to help them rally towards that #1 pick.

Prepare for your opponent with the interesting of beating them.
Coach your team to win.
Play to win.
Trust that whatever happens is meant to be.

There. Problem solved.

The first apron does become a hard cap if/when a team signs a player using one of three important instruments designed to help a team spend deeper into the Tax Level: sign-and-trade, non-taxpayer mid-level exception acquisition, or acquisitions via bi-annual exceptions.

The second apron is so punitively that teams avoid a second time it at nearly all costs.

https://www.sheppard.com/insights/blogs/...g-strategy