Here's my idea to prevent teams from tanking in professional sports for picks

• Fly4Fun

  

  In the NBA and NFL there is always talk about teams intentionally tanking to get the #1 pick or highest chance at best picks... instead of rewarding complete and utter failure (aka being the worst team) I have a proposal. I haven't heard of it before, but this is what I suggest.
  
  If a team misses the post-season... then the team with the best record of the non-postseason teams gets the highest pick, 2nd best 2nd pick and so on.
  
  This way is discourages teams from completely being okay with being bad. In the rest of America we reward excellence and succeeding... why do we accept for our professional sports a system that rewards being terrible?
  
  What are your thoughts?
  
  (I posted this in serious business as well... just to get more people's opinions.)
• sportswizuhrd

  Hypothetical situation...
  
  Battle for 8th place between a 34-47 team(Team A) and a team with their season complete at 35-47(Team B). Team A plays with Team C who has a 9-72 record. 1st place in the conference is 66-16. Team A lost their best player 10 games ago and he will not be in the playoffs. Before that, they had a 4 game lead for the last spot. Team A holds the tiebreaker over Team B. Does Team A lose on purpose to get the 1st pick?
  
  This could happen to a team like the Wizards with losing Arenas(not this year but lost their best player) or with the Clippers and Blake Griffin. Could you imagine the Clippers getting both Griffin and Wall for next year? EDIT: Last year the Suns had the best record of any team that missed the playoffs, they would have Blake Griffin(lets say he's healthy), and they would be great with him running the floor for them.
  
  That being said, I am mixed about this but with the current way, a team that is close to rock bottom was bad to begin with and they werent missing the playoffs due to an injury late in the season.
• Writerbuckeye

  

  What about teams that deliberately lay down because they've clinched a playoff spot and basically allow other teams to get into the playoffs who might not otherwise get in (the NY Jets this year, for example)?
• Fly4Fun

  

  Eh, I don't know.
  
  My post is more regards to the bottom of the league and rewarding complete failure. Teams in the playoffs at least have their shit together to get in there.
• thavoice

  Not that I totally disagree with ya that something needs to be done the system is what it is because they want parity and the league's are supposed to be set up that everyone should have equal opportunity.
  
  Most of them have a cap so ya cannot just outspend.
  
  The draft is supposed to replenish the bad teams with the better talent so they can compete better and then in turn make the league better because of more balance.
  
  Now, some franchises suck at building a team but the system is in place that every franchise, no matter how big or small, has the same opportunity and so the 'rich dont get richer, and poor get poorer'.
  
  Understand what you are saying tho. I dont know....i dont think I really see alot of teams tanking at the end of seasons. Some of the lackluster efforts ya may see could be a combination of just bad talent, back coaching, a totally defeated team from all the losing, etc etc etc.
  
  I give ya props for effort but still like the current system over yours.
  
  I had an idea a few years ago I mentioned to friends.
  
  When the season is over ya slot the bottom five teams in terms of record like ya see now. BUT......instead of just giving the worst record team the top pick you do this.....over the last qtr (or a certain percentage they wanna pick) ya place the bottom five in order compared on their record the last QTR of the season....the team with the best winning percentage among the worst 5 teams get the first pick. Second best winning percentage among the worst 5 get the second...and so on. Then from 6 on ya go the traditional way.
  
  that was just my idea I was floatin around over the years.
  
  taht way the worst teams will still get the higher picks and possibly get better if things pan out yet gives teams incentives not to tank.
• hoops23

  

  IMO, the NBA has the perfect system in place. It's not very often that the worst team in the league gets the #1 pick.
• Azubuike24

  

  If you have a lottery system, it really negates the tanking. Even in the NBA, the best you can do is a 1/4 shot at the top pick. Giving it to the team with the best record of the non-playoff teams in all sports would just make things that much tougher.
  
  Basically, you are rewarding mediocrity...which to me, is equal to rewarding being horrible. However, at least rewarding the terrible should create some balance if the teams use the picks wisely.