Ford: 7 teams prepared to tank for wiggins

[nyc6]

http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nba/2224/andrew-wiggins

It still boggles my mind how teams like Cleveland, Detriot, Washington, Sacramento and New Orleans have no plans to make this list. Like I said in my other thread it's likely because grant, dumars and Grunfeld are all on the hot seat.

[tranjSAIC]

My Magic dream year....We lose a ton of games, BUT our young guys show serious promise! Hopefully we don't get blown out either, I want a ton of close games but since we are a young team we don't close games out.

[NekiEcko]

Chris Ford isnt the best place for sources either. Most of them is educated guesses.

[mysticbb]

http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nba/2224/andrew-wiggins

It still boggles my mind how teams like Cleveland, Detriot, Washington, Sacramento and New Orleans have no plans to make this list. Like I said in my other thread it's likely because grant, dumars and Grunfeld are all on the hot seat.

So, you suggest that 12 teams should throw a season away, making customers and competitive players unhappy just to have a mere chance at the top pick in the next draft and to get Wiggins? And then Wiggins may be injured, or the team can't get the right players around him, and he will leave after 4 years? Really, that is not how a business works.

If the seasons shows to be unsuccessful by the trade deadline, you can prepare your team for that and hope to be lucky or at worst be a player in the FA or trade phase, but before the season starts there are so many factors which needs to be accounted for, that just joining basically 1/3rd of the teams in the league for the mere hope is foolish.

[heat4life]

Yeah, because a GM would risk his job, a possible fine and bad pub for the team just so Chad Ford has a story to write.

Let's remember, Ford was part owner of sportstalk.com before it became ESPN Insider. Many of the old time poster at RealGM - including myself - came from there. Chad was full of it then, and has made a career out of unsubstantiated gossip. At the beginning of free agency, he already knows 7 teams are tanking...

[KazuoOda]

Grant isn't on the hot seat.
There is no point in tanking on purpose.

[dandrews]

The Wizards can tank but then they'll lose John Wall. Not a risk I'd want to take

[nyc6]

http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nba/2224/andrew-wiggins

It still boggles my mind how teams like Cleveland, Detriot, Washington, Sacramento and New Orleans have no plans to make this list. Like I said in my other thread it's likely because grant, dumars and Grunfeld are all on the hot seat.

So, you suggest that 12 teams should through a season away, making customers and competitive players unhappy just to have a mere chance at the top pick in the next draft and to get Wiggins? And then Wiggins may be injured, or the team can't get the right players around him, and he will leave after 4 years? Really, that is not how a business works.

If the seasons shows to be unsuccessful by the trade deadline, you can prepare your team for that and hope to be lucky or at worst be a player in the FA or trade phase, but before the season starts there are so many factors which needs to be accounted for, that just joining basically 1/3rd of the teams in the league for the mere hope is foolish.

There are many other star prospects in the 2014 draft. Stop taking stuff so literally. Ford doesn't literally mean wiggins or bust. #5 pick next year is arguably on par with #1 pick this year

[bigbadstevenson]

If the Bobcats are trying to get Al Jefferson, they might be trying to make the playoffs. They have what should be a half-decent starting lineup, with Walker, Jeff Taylor, Gilchrist, Zeller, and whoever. If that's Jefferson, they're not a dreadful team.

I could see them trying (and probably failing) to make the playoffs. The Bucks might make it, too. They don't have Reddick, but Henson and Sanders should be improved. If little else changes, they could be in the hunt again. Maybe they feel like they can get the 6th seed and challenge New York or somebody.

The Raptors could go either way, too.

[GoGoCeltics]

Wiggins, Gordon, Parker, Randle, and Smart all would have gone #1 this year. There are 3-5 other players next year that would have been considered for the #1 pick this year as well.

[mysticbb]

Ford doesn't literally mean wiggins or bust. #5 pick next year is arguably on par with #1 pick this year

Great, a team gets a chance at an undersized forward. Awesome! Seriously, look through all the drafts and you will realize that this hardly as successful as you think. Then we add that the ownership must agree to such a strategy in the first place and you may realize that your way of thinking about it has huge flaws.

I tried to explain it to you in the other thread, I doubt explaining it again will lead to anything. So, you may want to keep your believe, but contrarily to your belief that is hardly something a lot of teams can or should engage into. The odds of getting out of that season with no better than future than with a different strategy is actually higher than the odds of getting that much needed franchise player via draft.

[hazy_01]

I have a gut feeling he's ending up a bobcat (hornets), after so many years of lolcats and not winning the 1st pick ever, it's time they get something...

[joeposh]

Detroit has never had much luck with the lottery and has never had the stomach to tank properly. We have a young core that needs to start getting some playoff experience, otherwise it may start to crumble. I think they're right to try and pick up some quality veteran pieces now and preserve our cap situation to be able to make big moves if the opportunity arises.

[mysticbb]

Wiggins, Gordon, Parker, Randle, and Smart all would have gone #1 this year. There are 3-5 other players next year that would have been considered for the #1 pick this year as well.

Let's talk about it in ca. 10 month, shall we? Not every highschool prospect lives up to the expectations, not everyone will stay healthy for the year. Nerlens Noel would have normally went #1, his torn ACL most likely didn't help here. 1 of those 5 will probably end up not being able to perform as expected in college and will maybe go back to college just because he may earn that #1 pick and clearly more money in the next season, one might be injured, and 1 might be not that well suited to play in the NBA. At the end, it leaves two players who may or may not live up to the set expectations for their career in the NBA, and 10 teams (if we go by the op's idea) which will be left with some starting caliber role players, while having to pay the price via missed out revenue, maybe losing some of their players due to the lack of competitiveness and will start the cycle all over again.

It is also not good for the NBA overall, if 40% of the teams are essentially losing on purpose. A good league only works, if everyone is willing to compete.

[asindc]

Yeah, because a GM would risk his job, a possible fine and bad pub for the team just so Chad Ford has a story to write.
Let's remember, Ford was part owner of sportstalk.com before it became ESPN Insider. Many of the old time poster at RealGM - including myself - came from there. Chad was full of it then, and has made a career out of unsubstantiated gossip. At the beginning of free agency, he already knows 7 teams are tanking...

Exactly. Chad Ford most likely knows as much about which teams are planning to tank as anyone posting here.

[[SJJ]]

For the love of God I hope that the Raptors join this list sooner rather than later.

[Boneman2]

In other news, the Lakers are already contemplating signing Wiggins in 2017.

[bwgood77]

http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nba/2224/andrew-wiggins

It still boggles my mind how teams like Cleveland, Detriot, Washington, Sacramento and New Orleans have no plans to make this list. Like I said in my other thread it's likely because grant, dumars and Grunfeld are all on the hot seat.

Why would it boggle your mind? The more teams that are tanking, the less reason it is to tank yourselves. The team that comes in 8th place in tanking has less than a 3% chance at the top pick. The team in 9th place has less than 2%.

[bwgood77]

In other news, the Lakers are already contemplating signing Wiggins in 2017.

I'm guessing the team will match the offer.

[misterD]

http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nba/2224/andrew-wiggins

It still boggles my mind how teams like Cleveland, Detriot, Washington, Sacramento and New Orleans have no plans to make this list. Like I said in my other thread it's likely because grant, dumars and Grunfeld are all on the hot seat.

How do you think those teams could possibly tank hard enough to get one of the worst records?

Pelicans for example already have their budding superstar. You think a team with Anthony Davis, Jrue, Eric Gordon, Ryan Anderson, possibly Tyreke Evans and other decent role players could tank and get one of the worst records? I think it is likely that team squeezes into the playoffs. Same could be said for other teams on your list.

Tanking doesn't make sense for some teams.