The NBA could be set to integrate a myriad of rules to combat the NBA's growing tanking concern, but it may have have come six years too late for the Golden State Warriors.
One of the specific proposed rules would have prevented the Warriors getting the second overall pick in 2020, and therefore prevented them from fatefully taking James Wiseman which resulted as a disaster for the franchise.
Proposed rule would have prevented James Wiseman disaster
ESPN's Shams Charania reported on Thursday that a general manager meeting took place where a host of concepts were proposed to curb tanking, including the idea that teams couldn't select in the top four of the draft a year after making the Conference Finals.
Golden State's 2019-20 season would be an example of such a rule coming into effect. After losing to the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 NBA Finals, the departure of Kevin Durant and significant injuries to Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson pushed the Warriors all the way down to the bottom of the NBA, finishing a league-worst 15-50 before the Covid pandemic struck.
Golden State subsequently landed the second overall pick at the draft lottery, selecting Wiseman after the Minnesota Timberwolves took now superstar guard Anthony Edwards first overall.
Multiple sources with knowledge of Thursday's GM meeting as well as a late January Competition Committee meeting told ESPN that the following concepts have been discussed to curb tanking:
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 19, 2026
•First-round picks can be protected only top-4 or top-14+
•Lottery odds freeze at the… https://t.co/Vk2n1cSzde
It's unclear exactly what pick the Warriors would have got if such a rule had been in effect at the time, but it's fair to assume they would have got the fifth selection or at least something later in the lottery.
In that situation, Golden State may have been able to get their hands on Tyrese Haliburton or Deni Avdija, two players who they were reportedly interested in but didn't think were worthy of the second overall pick.
Avdija and Haliburton have gone on to become All-Star level players, with the latter leading the Indiana Pacers all the way to the NBA Finals last season before tearing his achilles in the do-or-die Game 7.
Wiseman, meanwhile, is now of the league entirely after just 152 career games. The 6'11" big man played just 60 games for the Warriors before being traded at the 2023 mid-season deadline, having since spent time at the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers, the latter of which have waived him twice already this season.
Clearly these proposed concepts are designed to prevent tanking, but it's ironic to look back and see how this would have benefited the Warriors and ensured they avoided the entire Wiseman disaster.