J. Kyle Mann

So I find myself more open to at least gaming out.

What does it look like if there is no connection at all between record and draft order?

Either way you do it, you could do things to de-emphasize the importance of the draft.

And I've talked a lot about this.

Like you could eliminate restricted free agency so that players are more free to choose where they want to go right away in their careers instead of seven, eight years down the line.

You could increase the rookie scale salaries for the top five picks so that if

an elite team gets the first pick, they face a pretty painful decision right away in terms of, can we keep all these guys together?

I don't love ideas that chip away at continuity and roster continuity.

I think that's a healthy thing for teams, but you can do all of those things and randomize the draft for the exact same reasons.

Like you can do that.

And I just, it's just interesting to me because the small market teams will rebel

against any wheel-like random system.

It'll be very hard to pass it.

And they'll say, one of the things we have to sell to our fans is hope.

And if you take this away from us, we can't sell hope on an annual basis like we can now.

And we'll be trapped.

It'll be harder for us to go from bad to good.

And I've always felt that in my soul.

And more and more, I find myself wondering, do I feel that in my soul?

Because that's all I've really known.