National Basketball Association

Silver: I don't see tanking to improve draft spot

Published Mar. 12, 2014 4:24 p.m. ET

foxsports

BOSTON (AP) NBA commissioner Adam Silver says he doesn't see tanking going on in the league.

Silver said at a Boston College event on Wednesday that he thinks of tanking as players and coaches trying to lose on purpose. But he believes players and coaches are trying to win. Instead, teams are trying to rebuild through the draft, and that's OK.

Silver was the guest of the Chief Executives' Club of Boston.

This year's college draft class is expected to be one of the best in memory. That has encouraged teams to trade away talent to improve their draft position. But that's different from tanking.

Silver said teams are responding to the incentives set up by the league. If the incentives are wrong, that's something the NBA needs to change, he said.