With the Clippers loss against the Pelicans, only two scenarios are possible out of this group:
If the Rockets beat the Mavericks, the Rockets advance as #1 with a 3-1 record and the head to head win over the Pelicans. If the Mavericks beat the Rockets, the Pelicans advance as #1 with a 3-1 record.
No team in this group can be the wildcard.
I don’t know about it not happening next year, but as a fan, the fact that i dont understand how the NBA cup works means i care very little about it.
If I along with millions of other fans dont care, then the players wont care too.
Maybe just the role players who feel 500k is big. But for stars, they literally sit games and lose out on that type of salary on the regular.