Report: NBA lottery reform voted down; Hawks vote "no"

There has been significant buzz in recent weeks and days that the NBA could be moving away from the current lottery system in favor of new reform that would greatly alter the format by which the lottery was weighted. However, Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the new proposal was voted down on Wednesday, and he also brings word that the Atlanta Hawks were among 13 teams that voted against the proposed change.

"Several teams started to wonder about unintended consequences and voted ‘no’ to be able to do further study," one owner told Yahoo Sports.

Among the "no" votes were big-market teams Chicago and Washington, a source said, with small-market Sacramento, in a strange twist, voting for lottery reform.

The remaining teams that voted no were Phoenix, Philadelphia, Oklahoma City, New Orleans, Detroit, Miami, Milwaukee, San Antonio, Utah, Washington and Atlanta, sources said.

It is no surprise that some of the big-market teams (as referenced above) voted against the reform, but as far the Hawks angle of things, it would be intriguing to know what the thought process was, especially with the front office in a state of flux. However, it appears that the suddenly controversial Philadelphia 76ers had a lot to do with getting this legislation nixed, and teams that plan to "tank" in the near future would certainly be in favor of the old process remaining.

To be honest, this vote should have little in the way of consequence for the Hawks in the near future, barring a catastrophic downturn in terms of on-court performance, but it is still quite interesting for the future of the league. For now, the lottery system will remain in place, but it is a safe bet to assume that this topic will not die anytime soon.