If you still think it doesn't cause some snowballing trouble.
Look at OKC. No big market.
When they tanked all these years and you have a multi-year average to determine the odds.
Let's take a 4 year average:
06/07 Sonics 31-51
07/08 Sonics 20-62
08/09 Thunder 23-59
09/10 Thunder 50-32
avg: 31
With that number you're something like a nr 8 or 9 pick, even though that team was one of the best in the league. So it encourages hard tanking because you get deep lottery talent in the period when you're already on an upswing towards contention.
Now let's imagine the Heat clear the house and rebuild because w/o LeBron none wants to play there:
2015 draft:
11/12: 46-20 -> converts to a 57-25 on a 82 game schedule
12/13: 66-16
13/14: 54-28
14/15: 0-82(imaginary)
avg: 44.25 wins. That's a solid #16 pick for a D-League roster.
Now I go 1 step further:
12/13: 66-16
13/14: 54-28
14/15: 0-82
15/16: 0-82
avg: 30 Happy 7 seed.
See the problem of that? You basically forfeit games 2 consecutive seasons for nothing. That's not healthy rebuilding because the guys below 8 are usually no freshman and you create a weird age curve because you take guys in the 20-22 age range in the first years of rebuilding. Then in the 3rd year when the first guy is already 24 worst case then you add someone who's 19. Let's say the 24 year old guy is Kenneth Faried who is only bouncy and won't age into his 30s. Now you have to dump that guy even though he's productive because he doesn't curve well with the team's climax.
I'M sorry but I can't visualize how horrible that proposal was of whoever did it in here more colorful.
