How about another round in the NBA Draft?

I guess we can never get enough of the excitement that marks an NBA Draft night.

Especially with all of the tension that marks those late rounds. 

Despite my facetiousness, the NBA apparently is considering adding another round in the draft.

Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops.com reports that ownersto the draft, adding a third round for the first time since 1988. And the players have countered with a plan that they believe would add for more  competitive balance by altering how the draft is conducted.

Several proposals are being considered that would give losing teams an immediate boost in the draft.

One plan would give the teams with the worst 15 records two picks in the first round. The bottom 15 teams would pick No. 1 through No. 15 and then No. 16 through 30. The 16th best team would then begin a run in the second round that would continue from No. 31 through No. 45 and then begin picking again.

Another idea  would provide the teams with the league’s eight worst records an additional first-round draft pick beginning with the 22nd selection in the first round. The league’s top eight records would not have a first-round draft pick, but instead would pick at the start of the second round (No. 31 through No. 38) and they would also get the final eight picks of the second round.

Adding a third round won’t necessarily bring a lot of talent into the league. Among the league’s rookie class in recent seasons, about 60 percent have been first-round picks, 20 percent from the second round and about 20 percent have been undrafted. So there really isn’t that much talent that falls through the cracks.

One example would be Gary Neal, who was picked up as an undrafted free agent by the Spurs after a stellar performance at the summer camps in Las Vegas last summer. But stories like Neal are relatively rare. The NBA teams don’t miss out very often when it comes to drafting players.  

Most likely, the players who would be picked in the third round likely would be stashed in the Developmental League or in Europe to get ready for an NBA career later.

The idea of giving bonus picks for the worst teams is interesting. And it would help them improve some.

Many of those losing teams have been consistent losers who have struggled drafting in the past. Giving them another late first-round pick  won’t necessarily improve their lot by a quantam leap.

But expect other similar proposals to be bounced between the players and owners as the negotiations continue.

It’s a sign of strong discussion if such plans are being bandied about.

Maybe we might be getting close  to a settlement when we start hearing about plans like this to improve NBA institutions like the draft.