Jun 26, 2014; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Bogdan Bogdanovic (Serbia) poses for a photo with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the number twenty-seven overall pick to the Phoenix Suns in the 2014 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center.
Jun 26, 2014; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Bogdan Bogdanovic (Serbia) poses for a photo with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the number twenty-seven overall pick to the Phoenix Suns in the 2014 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center. REUTERS

Thirteen NBA Owners voted "No" to the proposal to change the current lottery system that gives higher percentage of landing the top picks to teams with the worst records. The proposed system would have decreased those chances and could even give a top pick to a playoff bound team. The development comes as a surprise given there was a particular vibe before the voting that several teams would side on the affirmative in light of the blatant tanking job some teams have been doing for consecutive years running such as the Philadelphia 76ers.

The 76ers and the Oklahoma City Thunder were at the forefront of the naysayers, pushing for retention of the current system and requiring further study on the proposals before any modification is implemented. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports broke the news and had inside information on how the teams voted as evidenced by his latest Twitter feed.

Here were the 13 "No" votes, sources told Yahoo: PHX, PHL, OKC, NO, DET, MIA, MIL, San Antonio, Utah, Wash, ATL, CHA and Chicago.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) October 22, 2014

Wojnarowski added that the NBA was certain 24 hours ago that reforms were coming but then, some teams backtracked, reducing the expected 23 Yes votes and instead resulting to a resounding 13 No votes. There was a surprising twist of fate after perceived Yes backers Chicago and Washington, two big market teams, switched to the No side while small market team Sacramento voted on the affirmative.

"Well, we still have the 'Be as shitty as humanly possible' strategy available in future if we need it," a general manager quipped to Yahoo Sports after the said meeting took place. The results of the decision would not entirely shelve the plans for a new lottery system but instead just postpones it. With the new television deal just finalized and salary caps expected to jump to an additional $20 million USD by 2016, teams are wary that big market teams will have increased advantage of getting premium players. The small market teams usually build their roster through the draft due to their perceived disadvantage of attracting free agents.

While the recent voting did not leave everyone else satisfied, the NBA has its hand full of striking balance with giving equal opportunities between small and big market teams as well as eliminating perceived losing to land a top flight pick in the succeeding draft. The work begins again.