This article was first published as the Jazz Insiders newsletter. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox each Friday.
On Thursday, ESPN reported that commissioner Adam Silver informed teams that anti-tanking rules are coming next season.
According to the report, some anti-tanking concepts that have been discussed include limiting protections on draft picks (only top-four or top-14 protections), freezing lottery odds at the trade deadline, no longer allowing a team to pick in the top four of the draft in consecutive years and/or after consecutive bottom-three finishes, teams can’t pick in the top four the year after making the conference finals, lottery odds allocated based on two-year records, extending the lottery to include all play-in teams and flattening odds for all lottery teams.
While we don’t know which of these options the league will choose, or if they’ll come up with another system or rule change that hasn’t yet been reported, we do know that pressure on the NBA has ramped up in recent weeks and that changes are coming.
So, how will this impact the Jazz?
Well, frankly, the Jazz intend to win games next season and the pesky protections on draft picks that have had them handcuffed over the last few years will be gone. So, any changes are going to come after the 2026 lottery and draft has already been decided and the Jazz will be impacted just as much as any other team going forward.
The league is definitely going to have a closer eye trained in on tanking teams as the remainder of this season unfolds, but the Jazz will continue to use any and every injury as an excuse to sit a player and will find ways to make sure that they have the best possible lottery odds in the upcoming draft.
But, I’m afraid that as the league looks to crack down on tanking two things will happen. First, I don’t think that they will curb tanking. So long as bad record = high draft pick, teams will continue to tank.
Secondly, if the league makes it harder for teams to build through the draft, the non-destination teams will be hurt more than others. The draft is the most valuable tool for small-market teams and teams that don’t attract free agents, making it harder to accumulate talent through the draft could be damaging to those teams long term.
New with the Jazz
From the archives
Extra points
- Jazz mailbag: draft, 2026-27 rotations, Walker Kessler — and more (Deseret News)
- What Jazz owner Ryan Smith and others said about the $500K fine (Deseret News)
- Egor Demin beats out Ace Bailey for NBA Rising Stars title (Deseret News)
Around the league
- Power ranking the NBA’s tanking teams
- Suns owner Matt Ishbia sounds off against tanking
- Hornets’ LaMelo Ball not injured in car crash in Charlotte
Up next
- Feb. 23 | 7:30 p.m. MST | Utah Jazz @ Houston Rockets | Peacock
- Feb. 26 | 7 p.m. MST | Utah Jazz vs. New Orleans Pelicans | KJZZ
- Feb. 30 | 7:30 p.m. MST | Utah Jazz vs. New Orleans Pelicans | KJZZ