NBA 反摆烂新规仍存漏洞：篮网或受益于火箭首轮签互换权

Although John Hollinger of The Athletic believes the NBA’s new anti-tanking lottery rules are a good thing, he points out that there are still a handful of situations in which certain teams won’t be disincentivized from trying to finish in the NBA’s bottom three. Most of those scenarios stem from the rule preventing teams from getting the No. 1 overall pick in back-to-back years or a top-five pick in three consecutive years.

This year’s Nets are one example, since Houston has the ability to swap its own first-round pick for Brooklyn’s. If the Nets find themselves out of the playoff and play-in races, it may be in their best interest to finish in the NBA’s bottom three to reduce their odds of landing the No. 1 overall pick from 8.1% to 5.4%. If Brooklyn wins the first overall pick in 2027, the team would be ineligible to get the No. 1 pick again in 2028, despite the fact that the Rockets would control the ’27 selection.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Within a recap of the highlights of the NBA’s first week, ESPN’s Bobby Marks identifies Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey, Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, and Kings guard Zach LaVine as three players to keep an eye on from a contract perspective. With all three players off to hot starts this fall, Marks notes that Maxey and Edwards can become super-max eligible next offseason by making this year’s All-NBA team and wonders if LaVine could have some in-season trade value if he stays hot, despite an exorbitant $49MM cap hit.
Although Eric Earnest – a co-conspirator for the illegal gambling case involving Terry Rozier – pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud last Thursday, his attorney insisted after the hearing that Earnest didn’t receive any inside information from former Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups. Federal investigators have alleged that an unnamed co-conspirator matching Billups’ description told Earnest about Portland’s plan to tank and rest certain players, but attorney Peter Brill says he and Earnest have a “fundamental disagreement” with the government over that allegation. “Our position is that Chauncey Billups did not at any time provide inside information to Mr. Earnest that he used to place any bets,” Brill said, per Michael Rothstein of ESPN.
The NBA shared an interesting breakdown of this season’s opening rosters “by the numbers,” noting that – among the 519 players who opened the season on standard or two-way contracts – 276 have G League experience, 106 went undrafted, and 120 have been born since LeBron James debuted on October 29, 2003.
Two U.S. senators have called on the NBA to reevaluate its partnership with Rwanda and dictator Paul Kagame, as Mark Fainaru-Wada of ESPN details. The same two senators conveyed similar concerns to the league two years ago, at which time deputy commissioner Mark Tatum was following the U.S. government’s lead “as to where it’s appropriate to engage in business around the world.” However, senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) stated in their latest letter that the policies of the U.S., UK, and other European countries in regard to Rwanda have “shifted markedly” since then and suggest that the NBA should follow suit.