One of the things I've thought about after playing in APBA and other draft leagues is the teams that are regularly consistent in their records but more often than not miss the playoffs tend to get screwed compared to teams that tank every couple of years.
I've always thought you should reward teams that just miss the playoff by giving them a higher pick over tanking teams. You want one of the top few picks, build your team better.
TBH, not sure if it would work, but it adds incentive to spend a bit more money on building your team along the way.