There has been a major change to the NBA. Adam Silver is holding a press conference which will effect each and every team and player, both veteran and rookie alike, in the NBA. With the 2017/18 season still months away from tip-off, this is the official transcript from Silver's press conference.
Adam Silver: "Welcome everyone. I thank everyone for being present here today for this press conference which was as I know highly unexpected. I am a firm believer in hearing the fans voices, and after all, if it was not for them, our arenas would be empty, merchandise wouldn't move from stores and sell and the NBA lights would probably not be on. After watching the news and hearing and reading what the fans have to say, I had to rethink the NBA's current situation.
The parity in this league makes many people wonder, why exactly we thirty teams, if you have a handful of teams that have more than one or two superstars on them. You have teams that will probably never see the playoffs and if they do the competition and talent that their matched up against is far more superior than them. The NBA is unbalanced in the eyes of many. We love a good rivalry in the NBA and sports in general, but in the past few years it’s been amongst the same handful of teams. This is not fair to the teams nor the fans of those teams that work hard to pay for tickets to go watch their teams play and not be able to compete and contend for the playoffs and the championship.
I fully understand the complaints that have been going on and you know what, after careful consideration of them, I have come to believe that the fans have an extremely valid point.
Therefore and effective immediately, the NBA will hold a fantasy draft where all players are picked from a pool. The order of the draft will be based on last seasons standings and it will be a fixed style draft. The pool of players will include both veterans and rookies alike. I know there will be players upset about this. But at this point I feel this is something that will benefit the NBA as a whole. This will be the first year where a rookie draft will not be held. Upon completion of this fantasy draft this offseason things will go back to normal during the next offseason and going forward. I want to be able to give teams like the Nets, 76ers, Knicks, Kings, Lakers, etc. a chance to finally not just contend for the playoffs but for championship titles."