The Problem With Tanking In The NBA.

[Harry N. Lloyd]

I was just illustrating that it's possible to get better through the draft.

And since that is the case, who wouldn't want to have the highest possible selections?

Of course you want the highest possible selections. Agreed.

But tanking on purpose is like selling your soul.

I don't remember Red Auerbach instructing his team to lose so that they might possibly get a better draft pick.

Losing is for losers!

[The Giant]

Of course you want the highest possible selections. Agreed.

But tanking on purpose is like selling your soul.

I don't remember Red Auerbach instructing his team to lose so that they might possibly get a better draft pick.

Losing is for losers!

We'll see if you're saying such things when you're watching the Lakers and 76ers squaring off in the 2020 NBA Finals.

[bigtymer56]

Tristan Thompson is not exactly a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. He was the Cavs actual selection that year. They landed the right to draft Kyrie in a trade with the Clips for Baron Davis. Without the trade it would've been Thompson only. The trade saved them, not tanking.

That doesn't dispute my point without the years of high lottery picks Lebron wouldn't have gone back and thus Cleveland would still be without a title.

[bigtymer56]

PS the Irving draft was rigged.

[mikejamm]

NBA is putting an end to that tanking shit. There won't be much of an incentive to do it next year.

From Espn:

The team with the worst record will have a 25 percent chance of landing the No. 1 pick in this year's NBA draft.

Starting with the 2019 draft, the three teams with the worst records will share a 14 percent chance of getting the No. 1 pick, a move intended to lessen the incentive to lose at the end of the season.

[fataliz]

the success of 76ers this year is gonna further fuel the tanking process

[jjgold]

It’s taken years and years and years for the Philadelphia 76ers to be good never forget that

[dlowilly]

I fuking hate the Clippers

this bucks clippers game looks rigged as shit

Lou Williams, Austin Rivers, Deandre Jordan, Doc Rivers...suck a dick

[dlowilly]

How does a NBA playoff team like the Bucks just choke away the game like this? Sick of betting this shit league

[dlowilly]

League is so fuking rigged

4th qtr meltdowns by away teams

Home teams make every 3 pointer in the last few minutes total Bull shit

[dlowilly]

Lou Wiliams flopping that skeletor looking asshole

[Harry N. Lloyd]

League is so fuking rigged

4th qtr meltdowns by away teams

Home teams make every 3 pointer in the last few minutes total Bull shit

It's pretty impressive that the league can "rig" it so that the home teams make every 3 pointer in the last few minutes.

WTF is wrong with you conspiracy idiots?!

[A4K]

The NBA needs to have separate standings for non-playoff teams for the last 30 games. Make any non-playoff team that wins the most of those 30 games the #1 overall pick. Screw tanking!

[Regul8er]

The NBA needs to have separate standings for non-playoff teams for the last 30 games. Make any non-playoff team that wins the most of those 30 games the #1 overall pick. Screw tanking!

Best post I've read in weeks! I love it.

[ans61201]

Because other NBA Gms are willing to trade Demarcus cousins for those "potential" scraps. Because being middle of the road in the NBA is literally the worst position to be in in sports

[ans61201]

This coming from someone who thinks the NBA draft is terribly overrated because of weak one and done prospects drafted off what they might be by the time their contracts are up in time to head to a big market

[dlowilly]

The NBA needs to have separate standings for non-playoff teams for the last 30 games. Make any non-playoff team that wins the most of those 30 games the #1 overall pick. Screw tanking!

Great idea!

Kind of goes against the purpose of the lottery though plus they might tank the 10-15 games before the final 30

[texhooper]

There’s a lot of emphasis on TANKING but also some teams just fukking suck without really having to try too hard.

[doitnow]

For the 2019 season why doesn't the NBA select the worst 8 teams in the league and have them compete for the top 8 draft picks, that way there is no incentive to lose. I would say suns, Memphis,hawks,bulls, mavs, kings, magic, Knicks, would battle it out, there is a clear cut bottom 8

[dlowilly]

Maybe they need a relegation system like in Euro soccer

Bottom 3 teams get relegated and the top D league teams get promoted and of course are able to acquire the best players from the relegated teams

I would love to see the Fort Wayne Mad Ants play the Cleveland Cavs

Yeah I know the D league is the minor league affiliate of the NBA but I'm sure something can be worked out

[b1slickguy]

There is a good thing about it. Friend of mine brought up this strategy he been using lately w some success. Watch for games where one the tanking teams gets out to a early lead then fade them live as they have no interest in winning these games and you can often get the favorite pretty cheap in game.

Did your friend show you the "stiffing on a bet betpoints loan" strategy or did you come up with that one all on your own?

[k13]

Tyus Jones,
Andrew Wiggins,
Anthony Bennett,
Sergey Karasev,
Dion Waiters

Tell me who among those first round picks did Lebron get excited about.

He got excited about Wiggins..

[TeddyB]

They should have every team have the same percentage chance of winning the 1st pick. Do a lottery with all 30 teams doing draft order 1-30 with all teams having the same percentage chance of winning. It doesn't matter if the best team gets the 1st pick. The rich get richer.

[dlowilly]

Hawks tanked this game against the Heat late in the 4th and made it way too obvious

[lakerboy]

Hawks tanked this game against the Heat late in the 4th and made it way too obvious

They are all doing that. Trying then quitting. The mavs especially. I almost took Hawks ml Today. I would have been pissed

[dlowilly]

They are all doing that. Trying then quitting. The mavs especially. I almost took Hawks ml Today. I would have been pissed

I will never bet win totals on bad NBA teams again, big mistake

[HurryUpAndDrink]

They should have every team have the same percentage chance of winning the 1st pick. Do a lottery with all 30 teams doing draft order 1-30 with all teams having the same percentage chance of winning. It doesn't matter if the best team gets the 1st pick. The rich get richer.

May be the only solution to this problem.

[HurryUpAndDrink]

Maybe they need a relegation system like in Euro soccer

Bottom 3 teams get relegated and the top D league teams get promoted and of course are able to acquire the best players from the relegated teams

I would love to see the Fort Wayne Mad Ants play the Cleveland Cavs

Yeah I know the D league is the minor league affiliate of the NBA but I'm sure something can be worked out

Another good idea... Need to fortify and expand that D2 first, progressively... start doing it today, change the draft system in 5-6 years.

[pavyracer]

If the NBA had relegation no one would be tanking.

[Mr KLC]

After a 12-5 start, the Grizzlies‘ season has taken an unfortunate turn, with the team having lost 17 of its last 23 games, including the last six in a row. Memphis is now tied for 13th in the West, 3.5 games back of the eighth seed, which creates an interesting dilemma for the organization as next month’s trade deadline nears.

The Grizzlies owe their 2019 first-round pick to the Celtics, but that pick is top-eight protected, meaning Memphis will hang onto it if it ends up at No. 8 or better. Currently, the Grizzlies are tied for the ninth-worst record in the NBA. If Memphis’ struggles continue, it might be in the franchise’s best long-term interests to prioritize keeping its draft pick for next season rather than attempting to push for the No. 8 seed.

As David Cobb of The Memphis Commercial Appeal relays, general manager Chris Wallace was noncommittal when asked if the Grizzlies expect to convey that first-round pick to Boston this year or potentially keep it: “We’ll see where the season takes us at this point in time. We still have half a season to go. We’ll be prepared for either eventuality.”

Memphis is in a tough spot, since bottoming out and hanging onto that 2019 first-round pick wouldn’t necessarily guarantee that the team eventually sends the Celtics a less favorable pick. That first-rounder will become top-six protected in 2020 and unprotected in 2021 if it’s not conveyed in ’19, Cobb notes.

[OVAKUL]

They should have every team have the same percentage chance of winning the 1st pick. Do a lottery with all 30 teams doing draft order 1-30 with all teams having the same percentage chance of winning. It doesn't matter if the best team gets the 1st pick. The rich get richer.

Good point. Away with this socialist equality crap, go capitalism!