NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Tanking is going to be addressed. The 65-game rule might remain.<\/p>\n
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver insisted Wednesday that the league will change its draft process and address its tanking problem<\/a> before the start of next season. And he pointed to the league\u2019s player participation policy \u2014 citing the effect it has had on load management \u2014 as proof of how the league can make effective fixes.<\/p>\n The league\u2019s board of governors discussed tanking \u2014 the issue of teams trying not to win in order to enhance their odds of landing the best possible draft pick \u2014 at its two-day meeting that ended Wednesday. No votes were taken and no fingers were pointed at any specific teams, Silver said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are going to fix it,\u201d Silver said. \u201cFull stop.\u201d<\/p>\n Silver said the league has been working on the most recent tanking issues for months \u2014 and noted that the NBA has addressed the problem countless times over the years, including with several changes to the draft and lottery process.<\/p>\n \u201cI would say it seemed unanimous in the room that we needed to make a change, and we need to make a change for next season,\u201d Silver said at a news conference, wrapping up the two-day session with owners. \u201cExactly what that change is, we\u2019re continuing to work on. … I think there\u2019s also unanimous agreement that we need to make this change in advance of the draft and free agency this year, so all the teams understand the rules of the road going into next year.\u201d<\/p>\n The next step, Silver said, will likely be a special board meeting in May to get something done. The league\u2019s general managers have discussed the matter multiple times, and numerous teams have offered some sort of suggestion about how to fix the issue.<\/p>\n Utah was fined $500,000 for sitting some of its best players late in games earlier this season, including one the Jazz actually won. Three teams \u2014 Sacramento, Indiana and Washington \u2014 have had losing streaks of 16 games so far this season, and other teams like Brooklyn have not been shy about saying they\u2019re looking at the future more than the present.<\/p>\n \u201cI will say I really like where the league is right now. I\u2019m sorry to have to talk about tanking because it takes away from the incredible competition we\u2019re seeing from roughly 20 teams in the league right now, going into a wide-open playoffs, so many different teams,\u201d Silver said. \u201cIt\u2019s really exciting basketball. … Of course, the opposite of that is when there\u2019s a sense that both teams aren\u2019t out there trying to kill themselves to win a game. As I said, we have to fix that problem.\u201d<\/p>\n In other matters addressed Wednesday:<\/p>\n The 65-game rule<\/p>\n Silver responded to the National Basketball Players Association\u2019s statement<\/a> Tuesday calling for change to the 65-game rule<\/a> for major individual awards.<\/p>\n The NBPA, through collective bargaining, agreed to that rule as part of the current agreement between the league and its players. It pointed to the case of Detroit star Cade Cunningham, who would almost certainly be an All-NBA selection this season but may fall short of qualifying because of the 65-game threshold.<\/p>\n \u201cWe always knew when there\u2019s a line you draw that somebody\u2019s going to fall on the other side of that line and it may feel unfair in that particular instance,\u201d Silver said. \u201cLet\u2019s see what happens at the end of this year. By the way, Cade Cunningham, he\u2019s an incredible player. I\u2019m sorry that he\u2019s injured and can\u2019t wait to see him back on the floor.<\/p>\n \u201cBut having said that, we also have to remember that to the extent that one player is no longer eligible, some other player will then be All-NBA and will slot into that spot. I\u2019m not ready to stand here saying, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s working. I think it is working.\u201d<\/p>\n The NBPA believes the rule should focus on preventing \u201cexcessive load management,\u201d and that precautions should be taken so players don\u2019t miss out on deserved recognition or get forced to play when injured just to meet a games-played standard.<\/p>\n WNBA deal<\/p>\n