I dont reject the idea of it but unlike soccer, where earning a trophy like FA cup or prem league gets you into a more prestigious tournament such as euros, champions league, club world cup, no such thing exists with this in season trophy. They just win money, not to mention the games they play for the tournament count as regular season games. So, the motivation to win is not about the trophy but purely about standings/money. If man city win the prem league and man united win champions league both are considered great achievements for their clubs even though city won the league they both play in. Come finals time, no one is going to really care that Detroit won the mid-season tourney if they aren't playing in the finals.
I dont reject the idea of it but unlike soccer, where earning a trophy like FA cup or prem league gets you into a more prestigious tournament such as euros, champions league, club world cup, no such thing exists with this in season trophy. They just win money, not to mention the games they play for the tournament count as regular season games. So, the motivation to win is not about the trophy but purely about standings/money. If man city win the prem league and man united win champions league both are considered great achievements for their clubs even though city won the league they both play in. Come finals time, no one is going to really care that Detroit won the mid-season tourney if they aren't playing in the finals.