NBA idea No. 2: Playoff plus format
The good: Fringe playoff competitors such as the Kings, Pelicans, and Blazers have the opportunity to play their way into the tournament in this said format. While the numbers say these various teams were on the outside looking in from a realistic playoff push, they were robbed of the chance to pursue one because of the hiatus.
Having them in a refined play-in tournament where they too are competing for a lower playoff seed seems to be an ideal compromise.
The bad: The Grizzlies did play their way into the eighth seed fair and square by superseding expectations benchmarked for them around the league. To have their chance of playoff play go up in smoke by a transaction such as this one would make their playoff push seemed all for naught.
Ja Morant arguably may be robbed out of a Rookie of the Year award by Zion Williamson if voting for individual awards resumes. It wouldn’t be right to take Morant’s hard-earned place at the playoff table too.