Will NBA do anything about 76ers tanking? Silver: 'Step in and do what?'

Philadelphia 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie has taken a dramatic approach to rebuilding his team's roster.

There's little debating that his approach the past two seasons has been extreme. He's basically punted winning for multiple years, frustrated season ticket holders, and asked the league, well, what are you going to do about it? There's nothing in the rules prohibiting the 76ers from opting not to put their best competitive foot forward.

That was the sentiment NBA commissioner Adam Silver echoed on Sirius XM NBA Radio on Wednesday. Silver was asked if the league would ever consider stepping in to do something about the 76ers, who now find themselves 0-15 and on pace to set the record for worst point differential in a season, and he basically just shrugged:

Would the league step in and do what? I think ultimately management/ownership of teams make decisions on how to structure a roster and to plan for the future and this is a decision they made and they’re going to have to live with it. There’s no magic bullet from the league office.

Silver's right that the league probably has little recourse, even if they decided to try to wage war on perceived tanking. The league is trying to adjust the lottery system to change the incentive structure for teams in the long run, but there's little to be done immediately that would make a lick of difference.