A New Approach to End Tanking

Discussions about tanking solutions are common in professional sports. A novel idea suggests reforming how teams acquire future first-round draft picks to eliminate the incentive to intentionally lose games. In the offseason, possibly before the regular season, teams would participate in a special draft. They would pick another team's first-round selection for the upcoming year, ordered from worst to best record. No team could choose their own pick. For instance, a team with a poor record could pick a future selection from another team. This system would eliminate the motivation to tank, as teams wouldn't own their own high-value picks. It would also intensify head-to-head contests between teams holding each other's draft assets. This proposal aims to be a comprehensive solution to a long-standing issue. It potentially negates the need for other suggested anti-tanking measures, such as adjusting lottery odds or implementing pick protections.