Haliburton said the winner should get a guaranteed playoff spot, which is a nice idea for incentive but probably wouldn’t work because the teams that won could just half-ass it the rest of the season.
I have a couple non-in depth incentives in mind, in addition to the cash prizes.
- If the winner of the in-season tournament makes the playoffs, they get to choose their first round opponent. Would create lots of drama and storylines, while also increasing viewership.
If the winner of the in-season tournament doesn’t make the playoffs, they get increased lottery odds. Still a very good incentive for bad or young teams.
- The team who wins gets an extra first round pick. Probably a lesser incentive compared to the first one, but still something teams would want.
What incentives would you guys add if the in-season tournament is permanent?
Playoff tiebreaker. It would be a significant incentive that doesn't invalidate the rest of the regular season.
I like to tie it to OP's first incentive. If you are the first seed at the end of reg season and won the tournament, you could choose which of the 7th or 8th seed from the play-ins to play against.
And if you're the lower seeds, then tiebreakers.