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Reform to the NBA's draft lottery system was reportedly imminent, but enough owners have had a last-second change of heart to shoot down the proposal. The league voted 17-13 in favor of the changes, which fell short of the 23 votes required to put the proposal into effect, according to Zach Lowe.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported the full list of teams that voted against the proposal:
Here were the 13 "No" votes, sources told Yahoo: PHX, PHL, OKC, NO, DET, MIA, MIL, San Antonio, Utah, Wash, ATL, CHA and Chicago.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) October 22, 2014
The proposed reform would've led to dramatic changes to the lottery that were reportedly set to go into effect immediately. The idea of reform was thought to be triggered by the seemingly shameless tanking of the Philadelphia 76ers, but apparently many other NBA owners felt like the proposed changes were more reactionary than measured. Wojnarowski reported on Tuesday that Philadelphia and Oklahoma City were two teams opposing the changes, but that both front offices believed there was no question the proposal would go through.
Under the proposal, the first six picks in the draft would have been determined by the lottery, instead of only the first three picks under the current system. That means the team with the worst record could have picked as low as seventh. The proposed reform would have flattened out the odds throughout the lottery, a change Thunder GM Sam Presti argued would be another obstacle for small-market clubs who already struggle to attract top talent via free agency or in trades.
One glum GM tells Yahoo: "Well, we still have the 'Be as shitty as humanly possible' strategy available in future if we need it."
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) October 22, 2014
What's interesting about the vote is that small-market franchises weren't the only ones to oppose the changes. Chicago and Washington, who have each landed the No. 1 pick in the draft over the last 10 years, were among the teams to vote against the proposal.
According to Wojnarowski, a number of teams became concerned with unintended consequences the proposal could have. In the short term, the 76ers are the big winners. Savor that sentence, as you might not read it again for a long time.