NEW YORK — One of the biggest issues on the agenda when the NBA’s owners arrived in New York for the board of governors meetings was thwarting the tanking strategy employed most brazenly by the Philadelphia 76ers.
A proposal that would reduce the incentive for teams to lose games on purpose in an effort to get a better pick in the draft appeared to be gathering momentum earlier in the week.
All that momentum disappeared almost overnight, with enough skittish owners unable or unwilling to sign off on significant reforms that could have widened the gulf between small and big-market teams.
The proposal needed 23 votes for approval but received only 17, with 13 lining up to vote against it Wednesday.
“I think, in essence, the owners were concerned about unintended consequences,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said. “I think we all recognize we need to find the right balance between creating the appropriate incentives on one hand for teams to, of course, win, and on the other hand allowing for appropriate rebuilding and the draft to work as it should in which the worst-performing teams get the highest picks in the draft.”
The vote means the existing system will remain in place for now. The team with the worst record will still have a 25 percent chance at getting the top pick and cannot drop lower than fourth. The board agreed to send the issue back to the competition committee for additional study.
The reform proposal presented by the league’s competition committee would have drastically reduced the worst team’s odds of winning the lottery while also increasing the chances that the teams with the best record in the lottery field would jump up to the top of the board.
Another element of the proposal would have made it possible for the worst team to plummet all the way to seventh in the order.
The 76ers are at the center of the debate. General manager Sam Hinkie, with the blessing of ownership, has assembled a roster designed to lose in the present in hopes of building a foundation that can win in the future.
Hinkie has been unapologetic about his approach.
They have already landed promising point guard Michael Carter-Williams, forward Nerlens Noel, center Joel Embiid and European standout Dario Saric by stockpiling those high draft picks, but they’ve also lost a lot of games while doing it.
Philadelphia’s strategy didn’t sit well with some in league who think it compromises the integrity of the games in the present.
Notes
• Police in Las Vegas are investigating a man’s complaint that Blake Griffin attacked him during an argument over a photo taken while Los Angeles Clippers players partied at a Las Vegas Strip nightclub, authorities said.
• In Ontario, Calif., rookie Julius Randle scored 11 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 94-86 in an exhibition game.
• In New York, Carmelo Anthony scored 30 points, including a tiebreaking three-point play with 13.9 seconds left, and the Knicks overcame a 10-point deficit late in the third quarter to beat the Washington Wizards 103-100 in an exhibition game.
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