Adam Silver hates tanking.
He's made that much abundantly clear throughout his 12-year tenure as NBA Commissioner, spitting out fines left and right to teams that are a little too obvious about their intentions to lose games on purpose.
Just this last week, Silver handed out two fines worth $100,000 and $500,000 to the Indiana Pacers and Utah Jazz, respectively, as the two squads sat key players in an inevitable loss that pushed them just that slight bit further to a higher lottery pick this summer.
Unfortunately, fines can only go so far. Ultimately, if you're an NBA GM (especially a GM with deeper pockets such as the Clippers' Steve Ballmer), you're more than comfortable forfeiting hundreds of thousands of dollars (and I'd wager, tens of millions of dollars) if it meant having a greater shot at the next Victor Wembanyama or Cooper Flagg.
Silver has had enough.
In a recent presser, Silver stated he would consider ending the NBA draft, allowing NBA rookies to enter free agency - effectively being shipped off to the highest bidder. Silver stated "Every possible remedy" is on the table to stop tanking.
Silver's idea would benefit Atlanta beyond measure
It's no secret that the Hawks are a relatively large market team. While they're not as storied a franchise as the Celtics, Lakers, Warriors, or Knicks, the city that supports them is every bit as fervent and as numerous as those league staples.
With sizable cities and passionate fanbases come deep pockets, and that's exactly what the Hawks would stand to offer if Silver's idea somehow took root and was established, say, prior to the 2029-2030 season.
Atlanta could offer multiple large-scale contracts to rookies all at once, perhaps only to be out-competed by the aforementioned big three NBA large-market teams that rival the Hawks. While Atlanta might have fun celebrating its newfound flood of young talent in the short term, it would spell disaster for the league's future.
This idea would ruin NBA parity as we know it. Small-market teams like the Charlotte Hornets, San Antonio Spurs, and Milwaukee Bucks would face a steep uphill battle just to stay at the same level of talent as the Hawks, Lakers, Knicks, and Celtics, among others.
The hope is that Silver isn't serious; rather, he's stating an extreme measure to dictate just how fervently he despises the practice of tanking. There's surely a much more reasonable solution out there. The question is, will the NBA find it?