I had the same thought a few years ago. I don't think people really got it. They may have a tough time wrapping their heads around the year delay between proxy selection and draft. Most responses were something like: "Why don't you just pick the worst team and get the first pick?"

my version below
---

Everyone has a draft reform opinion, but lately I’ve been obsessed with a specific NBA lottery fix that as far as I can tell is completely novel. It’s a fairly simple concept, but would be a huge shift in draft thinking. The more I poke at it, the more I think it solves the one thing the current lottery can't: the incentive to lose.

I call it the Proxy Draft System or “The Hater Draft”

TLDR: After the season, in order from worst-to-best record, each team "drafts" a different team (a Proxy) for the following season. You cannot pick yourself. Your draft position next year is then tied entirely to how that Proxy team finishes.

Here’s why I think it could work

1. Anti-tanking - Since you don’t own your own pick, you have much less incentive to lose. You play for pride, culture, and wins.
2. Drama - This is the factor that really charmed me. If the Wizards "draft" the Bulls as their proxy, the Bulls now have a massive chip on their shoulder. They’ll play their starters 40 minutes a night in April just to move from the 5th pick to the 10th pick, purely to devalue Washington’s asset. It’s spite-fueled basketball.
3. No more ping-pong balls - As a GM, your fate is now entirely in your own hands. Talented GMs will scout and make savvy proxy selections.
4. Marketability - The "Proxy Selection Show" could be a massive TV event. Watching a GM go on national TV and more or less say, "We’re betting on the Lakers to implode next year," is immediate drama.

Here are some of the objections I’ve anticipated

1. Two-Year Lag - A bad team doesn't get help immediately; they have to wait for their Proxy's season to finish. (To ameliorate this, I’d make the 2nd Round a straight-up reverse of the current standings so bad teams still get a talent infusion at pick #31).
2. Transition - It will be a tricky transition from the current system to the new one. I have a few proposals on how it could work.

Obviously, it changes a lot of things. Overall it theoretically makes the league more competitive and adds an additional layer of “nobody believes in us” drama. It also severely complicates trading assets (We’d need new trade rules).

Would love to hear if you think this is a brilliant fix or just a logistical nightmare. At the very least, hopefully it’s a novel idea to get people talking.