Adam Silver considered radical plan to curb NBA tanking

The NBA has tried to find solutions to its tanking issue in recent seasons but has failed to do anything that eliminates it completely. That has prompted commissioner Adam Silver to at least consider a dramatic rule change to address the problem.

Silver admitted this week that the league had considered introducing relegation in order to prevent teams from tanking. In that scenario, Silver said one or two of the worst NBA teams would be demoted to the G League, while the best G League teams would replace them in the NBA.

Ultimately, Silver indicated the change was not seriously considered, as it would “destabilize” the NBA’s business model and would not be helpful for the G League teams involved.

“It would so disrupt our business model,” Silver told Suns employees this week, via Baxter Holmes of ESPN. “And even if you took two teams up from the G League, they wouldn’t be equipped to compete in the NBA.”

Silver did say the league had “put teams on notice” regarding tanking this season, and it would be a major point of emphasis for the league. The issue may be more salient in 2022-23 due to likely No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama, who is widely regarded as a potential franchise-changing player.

The reality is that there are times tanking is beneficial, and there is a lot of anecdotal evidence of it happening. It also makes for a bad product, which is why the NBA wants to stamp it out, perhaps with very radical methods.