Adam Silver: Lottery system won't change

The NBA's draft lottery system will remain unchanged indefinitely, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Thursday, as the league waits to see how the influx of revenue from its new TV deal affects competitive balance.

The league's owners agreed to retain the system despite concerns that certain teams - namely, the Philadelphia 76ers - have opted to maximize lottery odds rather than field competitive rosters.

Silver told Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe:

There's a recognition that the lottery is only one aspect of how to build a team. And given the inflow of the new television money next season and the large increase in the cap, ultimately the owners concluded that while we think we need to take a fresh look at the lottery system, let's wait and look at the system holistically once the new money comes in.

Because there's always unintended consequences and at least everyone understands the rules of the road right now. I think we need to be deliberate about any changes we make, so we'll turn back to it, but we're going to leave things as is for now.

The league also passed on lottery reform last October, and Silver said in June that the NBA will wait at least one more year before tabling the idea once again.

Despite inaction from the league, "tanking" has been a frequent topic of discussion among NBA analysts. Several ideas have been put forth - most notably Boston Celtics assistant general manager Mike Zarren's "wheel" idea.

Apparently, none of those ideas have caught the owners' fancy.

In the meantime, the current system of awarding the best odds to teams with the worst records will remain in place for at least a while longer.