How to save the NBA

It's another lonely evening
And another lonely town
But I ain't too young to worry
And I ain't too old to cry
When a woman gets me down
Got another empty bottle
And another empty bed
Ain't too young to admit it
And I'm not too old to lie
I'm just another empty head
That's why I'm lonely
I'm so lonely
But I know what I'm gonna do -
I'm gonna ride on

AC/DC - Ride On

If you're a sports fan and watch ESPN or read ESPN.com regularly, you know that the NBA draft is tomorrow night. And you also know all the talk and skepticism regarding the NBA that has preceded the weeks leading to the draft. There was the dismal ratings and competitiveness of the finals, the alleged "tanking" of teams as the season ended in order to get a better draft pick (and the Sixers, for the record, played their hearts out.... and they ended up with the twelfth pick, the lesson being, as always, cheaters always prosper), and the overall lack of quality play in the NBA. Now, it seems, every sportswriter has come out with their own way to "save" the NBA and up-hold the integrity of the game. From simply taking the top 16 teams into the playoffs, to changing the whole draft lottery process, to contracting a few teams, everyone has their own theory. Well, I felt left out. So here's my method to "save the NBA."
Now in my estimation, what hurts the NBA is 1) the diluted talent pool created by an influx of young players (American youngsters simply don't have the fundamentals down, while Europeans tend not to be physically or mentally tough enough), 2) the fact that there are just too many teams resulting in a large talent gap between teams, and 3) the players are so damned overpaid and pampered, many of them don't give a flying fuck anymore. So what do we do? The answer has been staring us in the face: Adopt the model used by European soccer leagues.
At the end of every season, the bottom three teams in the league are demoted to a second division, such as the NBDL, while the top three teams of the NBDL are sent into the NBA. You wan players playing hard till the end? Being demoted will fucking do it. You could even keep the draft process the same, creating a high probability that a blue-chip prospect will be playing in the second division, ensuring that viewers will still be watching the lower league. To start out with, send a few of the worse teams in the league immediately to the second division (maybe the Hawks and Grizzlies? Would their cities even notice if they left?). This will create a higher degree of competitiveness in the NBA as there will be better teams, and it will create excitement for the relegated teams as they strive to reach the highest level of play. Also, as in soccer, younger players could be loaned out to second division teams so that they could gain valuable experience and improve their skills. Sure beats them sitting on a bench and being useless an entire season. The only problem I foresee is reluctance on the part of the owners as the discrepancy in profits between the good and bad teams will become even greater. But I believe installing a system like this would be good for the overall quality and intensity of the game. And maybe we should put in a clause that says that the Sixers can't be relegated. Yeah, I like that idea too.