Prove Me Wrong: Only 2 Teams are Tanking So Far

[Orlwillbeback]

The Magic traded Dwight Howard for Aaron Afflalo, Al Harrington, young unproven players and draft picks. If that aint tanking, I don't know what is.

[lilojmayo]

Tanking to me is putting your team in a position to lose, cant truly think of too many teams that fit this definition....the Bucks yes, as they didnt improve their situation at all and solely was the helper to make everyone else improve.

The Bucks added a ton of veterans to the team in an attempt to win. They didn't bring in Mayo, Pachulia, Butler, Neal, Ridnour, Delfino for the hell of it. None of those players are great, but they are undoubtedly useful NBA rotation players. The Bucks owe Mayo, Pachulia, Neal, and Delfino a combined 20M next season as well so it isn't like they were signing these guys to one off deals.

They traded Jennings because it simply wasn't working for either side and actually got back excellent value in Knight and Middleton.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIJtSZgPLes[/youtube]

The moral of the story with the Bucks is the veteran play is garbage, lead by OJ Mayo and to a lesser extent Caron Bulter. Talk about a guy that plays decent for one year, gets paid and stops caring about winning/improvement. The worst i've seen him as a pro, eptimoe of inconsistency

JR Smith and OJ Mayo are prime examples of players that get paid and give you nothing after they sign that contreact. I feel like Nick Young is the next player that this will happen to, but I hope he proves me wrong.

With that being said this Giannis Antetokounmpo guy shoudl have been #1 overall pick, and if the draft were to be re-done would be according to Chad Ford. Any time I watch him its clear we are looking at a future Top 5 NBA player, and probably will be every bit the triple double threat in his prime that LeBron James and Jason Kidd were. His potential could be bigger than anyone we have seen before outside of LeBron. He is already 6'10, and the doctors sqaid he will grow to 7'0. Giannis the same natural feel for the game that LeBron has, something that Kevin Durant doesn't possess, but tries awful hard to do.

I just hope Bucks don't delay his development. If Bucks get Jabari Parker paired up with Giannis then it could be the start of something big...........

[Liver_Pooty]

Tanking to me is putting your team in a position to lose, cant truly think of too many teams that fit this definition....the Bucks yes, as they didnt improve their situation at all and solely was the helper to make everyone else improve.

The Bucks added a ton of veterans to the team in an attempt to win. They didn't bring in Mayo, Pachulia, Butler, Neal, Ridnour, Delfino for the hell of it. None of those players are great, but they are undoubtedly useful NBA rotation players. The Bucks owe Mayo, Pachulia, Neal, and Delfino a combined 20M next season as well so it isn't like they were signing these guys to one off deals.

They traded Jennings because it simply wasn't working for either side and actually got back excellent value in Knight and Middleton.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIJtSZgPLes[/youtube]

The moral of the story with the Bucks is the veteran play is garbage, lead by OJ Mayo and to a lesser extent Caron Bulter. Talk about a guy that plays decent for one year, gets paid and stops caring about winning/improvement. The worst i've seen him as a pro, eptimoe of inconsistency

JR Smith and OJ Mayo are prime examples of players that get paid and give you nothing after they sign that contreact. I feel like Nick Young is the next player that this will happen to, but I hope he proves me wrong.

With that being said this Giannis Antetokounmpo guy shoudl have been #1 overall pick, and if the draft were to be re-done would be according to Chad Ford. Any time I watch him its clear we are looking at a future Top 5 NBA player, and probably will be every bit the triple double threat in his prime that LeBron James and Jason Kidd were. His potential could be bigger than anyone we have seen before outside of LeBron. He is already 6'10, and the doctors sqaid he will grow to 7'0. Giannis the same natural feel for the game that LeBron has, something that Kevin Durant doesn't possess, but tries awful hard to do.

I just hope Bucks don't delay his development. If Bucks get Jabari Parker paired up with Giannis then it could be the start of something big...........

I hope the Bucks continue to lose for you guys' sake. Your team has been on the treadmill for so long that its insane. Id be happy for Bucks fans to get a brand new arena, and the #1 pick in next years draft. Parker, the stud with a 10 syllable last name, and a healthy Sanders is something potentially special.

[Damon_3388]

Has anyone ever stopped to consider that some of these teams might just genuinely be bad?

[NaturalBuns]

Tanking clearly doesn't start till after the ASG.

I don't think any team is tanking right now except the 76ers.
But I do think a handful of GM's planned for the future and not now including the Suns.
Like some people have said the Celtics and Raptors are pretty bad but the East is so bad that they are having bad good success if that makes sense.

I'm not sure we will ever know this year if the East is tanking after the ASG

[DusterBuster]

Tanking clearly doesn't start till after the ASG.

They start trying to tank on draft night, but they don't start really making the final push for the tank until after the ASG.

[DusterBuster]

Has anyone ever stopped to consider that some of these teams might just genuinely be bad?

As I've been saying 'bad' doesn't equal 'tanking'.

[Sixteen]

As a Philly fan I'm glad the thought of us tanking ticks some people off. Heck is more of a thought than anyone has ever gave us in 10 years. We are way more relevant now than actually competing for the 8th seed? Remember all those back to back years when the Sixers competed for the 7th/8th seed and nobody paid them no mind? Oh you don't? Be upset, you'll be even more upset when we finally and hopefully get our star to build around.

[The Rebel]

As a Philly fan I'm glad the thought of us tanking ticks some people off. Heck is more of a thought than anyone has ever gave us in 10 years. We are way more relevant now than actually competing for the 8th seed? Remember all those back to back years when the Sixers competed for the 7th/8th seed and nobody paid them no mind? Oh you don't? Be upset, you'll be even more upset when we finally and hopefully get our star to build around.

Don't the 76ers already have a guy who was drafted 2nd overall just 3 years ago? Do they not have 2 or 3 other lottery picks on the roster as well? Who is to say that this pick ends up better than who you already have and who you gave up to tank? Hell you guys gave up a young all star PG for a couple of chances at the lottery, I do not understand why 76ers fans would be so happy about that.

In fact that brings me to my next point, history has shown that there is nothing guaranteed about the lottery, people remember the Lebron's, Howards, and Durants, but they seem to forget the Darkos, Beasleys, Bargnanis, and even Turners. You see when you start doing research you realize that the average top 5 lottery pick outside of the top pick, is actually much more likely to be a quality starter than a superstar.

I know people like to dream about the huge lottery pick when their team has nothing going for it, but to watch a team trade already proven young talent for a chance at the lottery would drive me insane. I have spent enough time watching a team go through 14 years of lottery hell, trying 3 times to rebuild, to finally get it somewhat right. But people want to believe in 1 year they will be the next OKC thunder as opposed to the timberwolves.

[underpressure]

So you want to know why the majority of the Sixers fans are satisfied with the route the management has taken. Well here you see the records of the past 10 years:

2003-4: 33-49
2004-5: 43-39
2005-6: 38-44
2006-7: 35-47
2007-8: 40-42
2008-9: 41-41
2009-10: 27-55
2010-11: 41-41
2011-12: 35-31
2012-13: 34-48

There was one aberration, namely when the complete ineptitude of Eddie Jordan made the Sixers somewhat of a bottom-feeder. When that fool was replaced, the Sixers were again the definition of mediocriy.

The cause can be made that the Sixers wouldn't have escaped mediocrity if they kept Holiday. For sure, they would NOT be in the race to capture one of the best picks in the upcoming draft.

And this, in short, captures the feelings of many Sixers fans. They are completely disgusted by the last few years and are happy that this franchise finally broke with their mediocre play, for better or worse.

[8305]

I agree with pretty much everything the Rebel says. Take the argument one steo further, a redo of the 2009 draft and Jrue Holiday is probably a top 5 pick. I agree that the 76er strategy could be flawed but when you build that trade into the equation of Philly strategy I don't see how any conclusion other tanking this season can result.

The NOP trade in isolation could turn out pretty bad but the move gives Philly a good chance of having their own pick be a top three. Now Philly fan has to hope their management can execute young talent accumulation well. Not always a given see Sacremento and Cleveland. Then they have to create fit and culture. Look at the small number of teams that achieved elite status over the last ten years.

[mojomarc]

With that being said this Giannis Antetokounmpo guy shoudl have been #1 overall pick, and if the draft were to be re-done would be according to Chad Ford.

Boy, that's going out on a limb considering Anthony Bennett was the first overall.

Any time I watch him its clear we are looking at a future Top 5 NBA player, and probably will be every bit the triple double threat in his prime that LeBron James and Jason Kidd were. His potential could be bigger than anyone we have seen before outside of LeBron. He is already 6'10, and the doctors sqaid he will grow to 7'0. Giannis the same natural feel for the game that LeBron has, something that Kevin Durant doesn't possess, but tries awful hard to do.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. We're talking about a player with a 14.2 PER at the moment. Projecting that into a top five player is extremely premature. I get that he has a ton of potential, but at the moment he looks a lot more like a young Nice Batum than LeBron or Kidd.

I just hope Bucks don't delay his development. If Bucks get Jabari Parker paired up with Giannis then it could be the start of something big...........

I would think a banging big like Julius Randle might be the best fit with Gianni.

[underpressure]

The NOP trade in isolation could turn out pretty bad but the move gives Philly a good chance of having their own pick be a top three. Now Philly fan has to hope their management can execute young talent accumulation well. Not always a given see Sacremento and Cleveland. Then they have to create fit and culture. Look at the small number of teams that achieved elite status over the last ten years.

In the past the Sixers management has shown the ability to make good choices in the draft. Not only have they drafted Holiday (#17), but they also picked MCW (#11), Vucevic (#16), Thad Young (#12), Iguodala (#9) and also acquired Lou Williams, Kyle Korver, Willie Green and Lavoy Allen in the secound round. The Sixers have a long history of excelling in the draft.
So even though they are good at drafting, they never got their hands on a marquee talent who turns the franchise around. And for that matter, you need in general a top 5 pick. It can backfire at times, but if you have got a good management in place (NOT Cleveland, not the Hawks of the Marvin Williams and Sheldon Williams era etc), the likelihood of turning around the franchise increases.

[The Rebel]

The NOP trade in isolation could turn out pretty bad but the move gives Philly a good chance of having their own pick be a top three. Now Philly fan has to hope their management can execute young talent accumulation well. Not always a given see Sacremento and Cleveland. Then they have to create fit and culture. Look at the small number of teams that achieved elite status over the last ten years.

In the past the Sixers management has shown the ability to make good choices in the draft. Not only have they drafted Holiday (#17), but they also picked MCW (#11), Vucevic (#16), Thad Young (#12), Iguodala (#9) and also acquired Lou Williams, Kyle Korver, Willie Green and Lavoy Allen in the secound round. The Sixers have a long history of excelling in the draft.
So even though they are good at drafting, they never got their hands on a marquee talent who turns the franchise around. And for that matter, you need in general a top 5 pick. It can backfire at times, but if you have got a good management in place (NOT Cleveland, not the Hawks of the Marvin Williams and Sheldon Williams era etc), the likelihood of turning around the franchise increases.

So the current owner and new GM get credit for drafts that happened years ago? Yet you failed to mention turner as well I see.

[sixerswillrule]

As a Philly fan I'm glad the thought of us tanking ticks some people off. Heck is more of a thought than anyone has ever gave us in 10 years. We are way more relevant now than actually competing for the 8th seed? Remember all those back to back years when the Sixers competed for the 7th/8th seed and nobody paid them no mind? Oh you don't? Be upset, you'll be even more upset when we finally and hopefully get our star to build around.

Don't the 76ers already have a guy who was drafted 2nd overall just 3 years ago? Do they not have 2 or 3 other lottery picks on the roster as well? Who is to say that this pick ends up better than who you already have and who you gave up to tank? Hell you guys gave up a young all star PG for a couple of chances at the lottery, I do not understand why 76ers fans would be so happy about that.

In fact that brings me to my next point, history has shown that there is nothing guaranteed about the lottery, people remember the Lebron's, Howards, and Durants, but they seem to forget the Darkos, Beasleys, Bargnanis, and even Turners. You see when you start doing research you realize that the average top 5 lottery pick outside of the top pick, is actually much more likely to be a quality starter than a superstar.

I know people like to dream about the huge lottery pick when their team has nothing going for it, but to watch a team trade already proven young talent for a chance at the lottery would drive me insane. I have spent enough time watching a team go through 14 years of lottery hell, trying 3 times to rebuild, to finally get it somewhat right. But people want to believe in 1 year they will be the next OKC thunder as opposed to the timberwolves.

The top 5 picks are much more likely to be a quality starter than a superstar because superstars are rare! No need to state the obvious. It's so annoying to hear things like "tanking isn't a sure thing." NO STRATEGY IS A SURE THING. 97% of teams don't win a championship every year. Failure is far, far more likely regardless of what path you choose to take. What history has shown is that without drafting (or a draft night trade for) a superstar, then your chances of winning it all become almost zero. A true superstar. A top 5 player in the league. And the farther down in the draft you go, the less likely that superstar will still be there. Could he be a bust? Sure. Turner was a bust. But he could also be the jackpot. Without that player, the Sixers weren't going to win a championship and so they took the step they felt was most necessary. They traded away a guy who made the all-star team but was really only a top 40 player last season and could become, at best, top 20. Where has getting it somewhat right taken the Nuggets? The first round of the playoffs? You don't get any rings for that.

[dautjazz]

Utah went with a youth movement. It was time to see what Favors and Kanter could do. The Jazz traded UP in the draft to get the player they wanted. Trey Burke arrived late on the scene due to injury, but he is too good and has too much will to win to play for a loser. The Jazz are 5-5 in their last ten games. Trey Burke is single-handedly ruining any chance Utah had to be the worst team. In fact, the Jazz are not too bad these days.

Yup, Jazz are 9-11 since Burke has started. Jazz are 6-5 since Marvin Williams returned after missing 4 games. Even Favors missed like 2 games. The losses are mostly due to injuries.

[lilojmayo]

With that being said this Giannis Antetokounmpo guy shoudl have been #1 overall pick, and if the draft were to be re-done would be according to Chad Ford.

Boy, that's going out on a limb considering Anthony Bennett was the first overall.

Any time I watch him its clear we are looking at a future Top 5 NBA player, and probably will be every bit the triple double threat in his prime that LeBron James and Jason Kidd were. His potential could be bigger than anyone we have seen before outside of LeBron. He is already 6'10, and the doctors sqaid he will grow to 7'0. Giannis the same natural feel for the game that LeBron has, something that Kevin Durant doesn't possess, but tries awful hard to do.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. We're talking about a player with a 14.2 PER at the moment. Projecting that into a top five player is extremely premature. I get that he has a ton of potential, but at the moment he looks a lot more like a young Nice Batum than LeBron or Kidd.

I just hope Bucks don't delay his development. If Bucks get Jabari Parker paired up with Giannis then it could be the start of something big...........

I would think a banging big like Julius Randle might be the best fit with Gianni.

Come on now, Nic Batum has never been jaw droppin like Giannis. Or possession his freakish measurements. Have you seen the size of Giannis hands??? It makes Michael Jordan's hands look small. Nic Batum is not a game changer, Giannis looks like he is going to be a big time game changer. People forget that the doctors said he will grow to be 7 foot tall.

Giannis could be a point guard if you need him to be. Nic Batum doesn't have Giannis talent, not even close.

[Xepa777]

With that being said this Giannis Antetokounmpo guy shoudl have been #1 overall pick, and if the draft were to be re-done would be according to Chad Ford.

Boy, that's going out on a limb considering Anthony Bennett was the first overall.

Any time I watch him its clear we are looking at a future Top 5 NBA player, and probably will be every bit the triple double threat in his prime that LeBron James and Jason Kidd were. His potential could be bigger than anyone we have seen before outside of LeBron. He is already 6'10, and the doctors sqaid he will grow to 7'0. Giannis the same natural feel for the game that LeBron has, something that Kevin Durant doesn't possess, but tries awful hard to do.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. We're talking about a player with a 14.2 PER at the moment. Projecting that into a top five player is extremely premature. I get that he has a ton of potential, but at the moment he looks a lot more like a young Nice Batum than LeBron or Kidd.

I just hope Bucks don't delay his development. If Bucks get Jabari Parker paired up with Giannis then it could be the start of something big...........

I would think a banging big like Julius Randle might be the best fit with Gianni.

Come on now, Nic Batum has never been jaw droppin like Giannis. Or possession his freakish measurements. Have you seen the size of Giannis hands??? It makes Michael Jordan's hands look small. Nic Batum is not a game changer, Giannis looks like he is going to be a big time game changer. People forget that the doctors said he will grow to be 7 foot tall.

Giannis could be a point guard if you need him to be. Nic Batum doesn't have Giannis talent, not even close.

Lord have mercy. LilOJ found another player to worship. Way to jinx Greek Freak's career. RIP. Was nice while it lasted Bucks fans. Deep condolences.

[JimmyTD3]

So you want to know why the majority of the Sixers fans are satisfied with the route the management has taken. Well here you see the records of the past 10 years:

2003-4: 33-49
2004-5: 43-39
2005-6: 38-44
2006-7: 35-47
2007-8: 40-42
2008-9: 41-41
2009-10: 27-55
2010-11: 41-41
2011-12: 35-31
2012-13: 34-48

There was one aberration, namely when the complete ineptitude of Eddie Jordan made the Sixers somewhat of a bottom-feeder. When that fool was replaced, the Sixers were again the definition of mediocriy.

The cause can be made that the Sixers wouldn't have escaped mediocrity if they kept Holiday. For sure, they would NOT be in the race to capture one of the best picks in the upcoming draft.

And this, in short, captures the feelings of many Sixers fans. They are completely disgusted by the last few years and are happy that this franchise finally broke with their mediocre play, for better or worse.

Very GSW-esque records, so I feel your pain. You've just gotta find some talent...I don't know where we'd be w/o Curry right now. Thankfully MCW is looking good...if Noel turns out to be anything and you guys get a top-3 pick in this draft who turns out to be anything...that's dangerous

[mrcalzone]

Boy, that's going out on a limb considering Anthony Bennett was the first overall.



Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. We're talking about a player with a 14.2 PER at the moment. Projecting that into a top five player is extremely premature. I get that he has a ton of potential, but at the moment he looks a lot more like a young Nice Batum than LeBron or Kidd.



I would think a banging big like Julius Randle might be the best fit with Gianni.

Come on now, Nic Batum has never been jaw droppin like Giannis. Or possession his freakish measurements. Have you seen the size of Giannis hands??? It makes Michael Jordan's hands look small. Nic Batum is not a game changer, Giannis looks like he is going to be a big time game changer. People forget that the doctors said he will grow to be 7 foot tall.

Giannis could be a point guard if you need him to be. Nic Batum doesn't have Giannis talent, not even close.

Lord have mercy. LilOJ found another player to worship. Way to jinx Greek Freak's career. RIP. Was nice while it lasted Bucks fans. Deep condolences.

lilgiannisantetokounmpo

doesn't quite have the same ring to it