Gilbert Arenas says he knows how to fix the In-Season Tournament: ‘Give me a lottery pick’

We’ve heard Gilbert Arenas talk about almost every subject in the NBA, but his take on the In-Season Tournament is a matter we haven’t heard about enough. The former star recently dedicated a long conversation with Kenyon Martin about his thoughts on how teams should actually be awarded for conquering the league’s new cup. 

While most believe giving out $500,000 in cash prizes for each player who wins the competition is good enough, others are starting to consider other incentives instead of just solving it with money. For example, some have thrown around the idea that the champions should earn a guaranteed playoff spot.

However, there’s no doubt Commissioner Adam Silver did a good job giving the tournament its own identity. According to sources, the title game was most-watched regular-season non-Christmas Day game on any network in the past five years.

ESPN says the In-Season Tournament title game was most-watched regular-season non-Christmas Day game on any network in 5+ years. Audience peaked at 5,680,000 viewers for Lakers-Pacers game, network says.

— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) December 12, 2023

On the “Gil’s Arena” podcast, the ex-NBA star explained why receiving a lottery pick in the NBA Draft would be a fair reward. The popular podcast host assured that getting a top-eight selection would feel like a true compensation for winning the competition.

“Give me a lottery pick. Reward winning for once. Right? I mean like if the Lakers get the 14th pick in the NBA Draft versus the 30th pick they get every year, yeah!” Gilbert said.

Arenas’ guest Kenyon Martin, slightly agreed with this idea, even though he said a top-14 pick actually seemed more fair, especially as it can serve as a great asset for trading negotiations.

“Think about this, they won that right and they get the 14th pick. Now I wanna make a trade right now. I’ll give you Rui and our 14th pick, Chicago you get me Zach LaVine. Now I get to keep my guard. … Now you got real leverage,” he said.

Adam Silver was excited for the tournament’s inaugural success but is convinced that there are a lot of changes to be done

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was present in Las Vegas for the competition’s final four, where the Indiana Pacers stole the Cinderella story but lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the championship game. The executive not only attended the media’s many questions, but also guaranteed modifications for future editions.

One of the most common disagreements came from the point differential tiebreaker during group stage contests. “I’m not ready necessarily to move away from it,” Silver assured. “But if ultimately there’s going to be a sense particularly from our American fans that it’s somehow an indication of poor sportsmanship, that’s not a good idea for us to be doing it. And maybe there’s some ways to tweak that.”

The distinctive colored court were another aspect that was constantly criticized, especially by players and coaches. However, the Commissioner admitted to being a fan of the courts, but understands that players come first.

“I’m a big advocate of the colorful courts,” he said before Pacers and Lakers faced off in the final. “We want to make sure they’re not a distraction.”

Also, Silver recognized the fact that many players were requesting to raise the prize money, despite them winning $500,000 each for conquering the championship. “This is a business,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with money being a motivator in certain cases.”