3. "But that still penalizes the teams with less talent." In response to In response to 1
Just because you are fighting for the 14th worst record (and thus the top picks) in the league doesn't mean you have a chance to get it.
So the bad teams stay bad. Which is bad for the league.
The current lottery system works a lot better than people give it credit for. For every Cavs, there is a Bulls (Rose, 1.7% chance) or even Hornets last year (we won a bit down the stretch).
The worst team only gets a 25% chance, by no means a dunker.
I would advocate giving the 5-14 teams more weight in the lottery though. Having a 5% or less chance despite being a losing team doesn't seem fair.
I say weight the lottery based on record, not place in the standings. That would even it out a bit, and tanking would be more difficult and less effective.