Post#13 » by Ring_Wanted » Fri Jan 17, 2014 6:29 pm
Bad strategy in what sense?
One of the typical arguments against 'tanking' is that very few superstars win titles with the team that drafted them. I find it completely irrelevant. whatever happens to your star is a matter of what he wants in life and what kind of team you can put around him.
You can also get screwed by the odds. This year, tho, you don't have one clear cut superstar, like Tim Duncan or Shaq. There is a wide number of big prices to be had, so in this case, the betrayal of the ping pong balls wouldn't be as harmful as other years, so to speak, but even if the class was lackluster, there is always talent to be found, and you can use the pick in a trade, be it for different draft assets or actual players.
Then you can get to the 'draft = crapshot'. Well, no team is bust free, and no draft position is a stranger to subpar production related to expectations, but what is out of question is that the higher you pick, the better talent available, and it's also well documented that beyond a certain range, the quality of the prospects drops heavily.
I can agree that 'tanking' doesn't work in the sense that you are not guaranteed anything, be it draft position or results from the prospect you select, especially if you think that just only one or two players are worthy of being really bad during a regular season, but that's not saying much considering the nature of the draft and basketball prospects/scouting. I don't think it's particularly revelating to say that in order to have success, you need not just skills, some luck and sometimes you have to create your own luck with skill, and this is exactly what happens in the NBA when it comes to the draft.
Leaving aside the (in my opinion questionable) dishonest angle, or the semantics surrounding tanking vs rebuilding (I do think there is a difference), I think it's undeniable that getting a high pick is a very good way for a franchise to start a new project, but of course is not the answer to all your problems.
You need to make a good choice, then follow it with further adequate talent evaluation and with a solid plan to build a competitive team within a certain period, which includes free agency/trades strategy.
In my opinion tanking/sucking/being bad by design, etc, is at one point or another imperative for any franchise, even the omnipotent Lakers, given the way the talent and money are allowed to flow in the NBA. Whatever happens thereafter is another story.
