Sources are telling ESPN that the NBA is considering a variety of drastic changes to the format of the league. They are currently in talks with the National Basketball Players Association to bring about these changes, which would be voted on in April.
One possible change is reducing the total games in the season to 78. Another would be reseeding the four conference finalists by their regular-season record. This would help ensure the best teams make it to the finals. The most drastic change would be adding a mid-season tournament akin to European soccer. They would do a 30-team tournament that would start with regular games representing the initial rounds. Then, they would move forward to single-game elimination rounds. Players and coaches would be compensated for winning.
Adam Silver has been a fan of adding a mid-season tournament for a number of years. Back in May, he commented on the idea: "It's incumbent on me to constantly be looking at other organizations and seeing what it is we can do better and learn from them. In the case of European soccer, I think there is something we can learn from them. The most-watched league in the world is only 27 years old. So the idea that the NBA can't create new traditions over time makes no sense to me."
