The Washington Wizards may arguably be the lone rebuilding team who's not actively going out of their way to tank.
Sure, Washington may not be in a rush to get newly acquired stars Trae Young and Anthony Davis on the court, but they're also not making it a point to sit their best players on a nightly basis.
With the Wizards continuing to prioritize the developmnent of their young core and key players such as Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George and rookie standout Tre Johnson, head coach Brian Keefe has made it clear that the goal is to win on a nightly basis.
Obviously, with a 14-39 record, that goal may not be reached very often, but the sole fact that the team is still attempting to develop rather than tank is a win in its own right; at least to NBA commissioner Adam Silver, whos beenn tasked to deal with the ongoing tanking issue.
However, the Wizards could find themselves on the wrong side of this new proposal to put an end to tanking, even if they're not among the biggest offenders.
New anti-tanking proposal could stump Wizards lottery hopes
NBA insider Marc Stein is one of the go-to reporters for league information, but perhaps his latest drop is the bit of information that fans of rebuilding teams may have preferrred not to read.
As basketball minds around the league continue to thinking of new proposals that would put an end to tanking across the league, Marc Stein tried his hand at a proposal that he feels would put an end to the madness.
"My pitch: The NBA needs to seriously consider implementing a rule that stipulates teams can only remain eligible to secure the highest possible odds to win the draft lottery if they win at least 27 games," Stein said.
His reasoning?
"A 27-55 record means that the team in question has won a third of its games," Stein writes. "That would require teams that want to tank in search of their next Face of the Franchise to chase winning deeper into the season and maintain a higher level of competence across an 82-game schedule."
Regardless of what the reasoning is, Stein's proposal would absolutely destroy the lottery dreams of team's like the Wizards and nearly every other team who finds themselves in the bottom of the NBA standings.
From lottery hopes to botched draft positioning, Washington could find themselves being punished for a crime they didn't commit; at least not in comparison to other team's offenses.