The common example for this are San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics which “tanked” for Tim Duncan in 1997, and the Cavaliers were very cavalier during the LeBron sweepstakes.
It’s a copycat league and teams are realizing that building around draft picks with cheap salaries has been very successful.
Once you build a solid base and create cap room, you can fill out your roster with veteran free agents. Some veteran players may even take a pay cut to play on your team because they have a shot at winning a championship.
But things are getting out of control.
The 76ers have lost 26 games in a row and still don’t have the worst record in the NBA. As Bill Simmons said, when over a third of your league is trying to lose in the stretch run of the season, you’re doing something wrong.
In the past year the 76ers traded their 23-year-old cornerstone Jrue Holiday for draft picks.
Then the 76ers spent a draft pick on Nerlens Noel, who they knew wouldn’t play in his rookie season.
They also traded Spencer Hawes, who is posting borderline all-star numbers, and Evan Turner for second round draft picks.
They released former franchise player Danny Granger, and have signed several nobodies to 10-day contracts to preserve their mediocrity.
Long-term, the 76ers have really set themselves up for success.
They don’t have long-term cap commitments to overpaid players.
They don’t have draft picks at their disposal or a top pick in the upcoming draft. So, “tanking” may just work.
Whether it is in the best interest of the NBA is questionable, I would argue that it’s not.
If you’re 76ers forward Thaddeus Young, how can you take your job seriously when you know everyone in your organization is making moves in an effort to lose? It’s counter-intuitive.
Smart teams like the Pacers have gone against the gain, taking advantage of teams going all-in on the “tankathon” and added legitimate NBA starters like Evan Turner for pennies on the dollar.
Whether this mentality will remain as prevalent as it has in recent years is anybody’s guess.
If it does, as commissioner of the NBA, I would implement a new lottery system.
Each non-playoff should get an equal shot at the No. 1 pick.
The result: You can try to make the NBA playoffs, and if you fail, you aren’t punished by getting a worse pick than the team who “tanked” and didn’t try all year.
Thaddeus Young is also a client of Tandem Sports and Entertainment.
Tandem Sports and Entertainment
Tandem Sports and Entertainment is a full-service sports and entertainment agency that has been the expert in athlete management, talent representation, publicity services, marketing, and communications.
Tandem employees has more than 100 years of overall experience in sports and entertainment industries and representing the biggest stars in professional sports and broadcasting, including NBA and WNBA athletes, sports organization, coaches, broadcasters, and industry executives.
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