Adam Silver Suggests Shock Way He May Look To Combat Tanking

Tanking has been one of the biggest topics in the NBA this season, and with teams like Utah, Washington and others clearly tanking ahead of a loaded 2026 NBA Draft class, it's easy to see why, with those two teams facing fines as a result. However, this isn't new, as a team like the Philadelphia 76ers overtly tanked for years, with the team and Joel Embiid getting the nickname 'the Process' as a result, with others like the OKC Thunder clearly rebuilding their team through tanking.

Now though, when it's a small market team like the Utah Jazz angling for the No. 1 overall pick, all of a sudden, Commissioner Adam Silver has spoken up, looking for ways to combat the idea of tanking. First, he suggested a tournament could be made between bottom tier teams to determine draft order, and now, he has shockingly suggested the idea of scrapping the rookie draft altogether. 

On paper, some like the idea, but given how small market teams like Utah, Portland and Charlotte have struggled to build contenders, incentivizing rookies to instead sign with the Lakers, Knicks and the biggest teams in the league would be catastrophic.

Ultimately, there's no simple solution to tanking for Silver and the NBA, and at this point in time, they may be best off allowing teams like Utah and Charlotte to get a generational talent, but as of right now, it appears Adam Silver is looking to make as big a change as he can.