NBA's Potential Tanking Solution Could Destroy the Kings

A rumored NBA change could screw over the Sacramento Kings and other similar franchises.

Dec 23, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings head coach Doug Christie reacts after a play against the Detroit Pistons during the fourth quarter at Golden 1 Center. | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

At the NBA All-Star break, the Sacramento Kings have the worst record in the league at 12-44, sitting firmly in the draft lottery driver's seat. At this point, there is only one thing that could seemingly fix this Kings franchise, and it is to land a top pick in this loaded 2026 NBA Draft.

While the Kings are not necessarily "tanking" to land a top pick, other teams around the league are showing signs of intentionally losing to improve their draft position. This has caused plenty of discussions around the league, and NBA commissioner Adam Silver proposed a potential solution that could change everything, and not for the better.

While abolishing the rookie draft was reportedly not among the solutions discussed among league officials last week, Silver could consider it if it solved their issue, per The Athletic's Joe Vardon.

"However, if Silver and his advisers decided the only way to stop tanking, and thereby protect paying customers from forking over money to watch their teams lose on purpose, was to stop the draft altogether and turn rookies into free agents, that same league official said it would get serious consideration," Vardon reported after Silver's press conference at All-Star weekend.

Adam Silver and his advisors would “seriously consider” abolishing the rookie draft and turning rookies in free agents if it is the only way to stop tanking, per @joevardon

(https://t.co/4heoXdM0NL) pic.twitter.com/qXNP8KfXXp

— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) February 15, 2026

Why this would be bad for the Kings

If the NBA were to get rid of the draft and turn it into a rookie free agency, the league would be in trouble. Especially, their small-market franchises like the Kings.

The Kings have been near the bottom of the league for two decades, with just one playoff appearance in the last 19 years. The only plausible way for the Kings to turn things around is to get a legitimate franchise-altering player in the draft, but this idea would destroy those chances.

If Darryn Peterson, the top prospect in this year's draft, received the same offer from the Kings and Los Angeles Lakers, who would he sign with coming out of college? Even though the Kings will be guaranteed a top-five pick if they finish with the worst record, there would be a strong chance they would not land a top-five prospect if it were a rookie free agency instead of a draft.

Why this could, but won't happen

In the new era of college basketball, any player coming into the draft is either already getting paid through NIL deals or overseas contracts. The sport is much different from what it was a handful of years ago, as nearly every prospect is practically already a professional athlete before they even sign their first NBA contract.

Due to this, the NBA could feel it is right to give the players some more power as they enter the league, which would be done by giving them free agency rather than a draft.

However, the league has to know that this is not the right decision. The point of the draft is to create the most competitive league possible. By giving the worst teams the best draft picks, teams are far less likely to stay bad, and it creates more competition across the league.

Teams like the Detroit Pistons, Philadelphia 76ers, and Oklahoma City Thunder all went through "rebuild" phases recently, but turned things around because of premium draft positions.

Since the draft lottery odds change in 2019:

- The team with the worst record has not picked #1 for 6 years straight.

- The team with the worst record has fallen to #5 three years in a row.

- Play-In Tournament teams have
won the last two #1 picks (Mavs and Hawks)

Bad teams… pic.twitter.com/epx3esKv2H

— NetsMuse (@NetsMuse) February 9, 2026

The lottery works, and if anything, it punishes the bad teams too much. Giving the league's worst team a near-50% chance to fall to the fifth overall pick is what hurts bad teams, as it just keeps them bad for longer. The worst team in the NBA has not landed the first-overall pick since the league changed the lottery odds in 2019. That is not solving tanking; it is only making bad teams worse.

There is a slim chance we see any drastic changes to how the draft works, and it should be clear as to why a free agency system would not work.