Tanking in the NBA

[b1e9a8r5s]

Do you think tanking in the NBA is a problem and if so, what is your solution to fixing it?

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[b1e9a8r5s]

I think it is a problem personally and I'm at the point where I would just say even odds for all the non playoff teams. I just think it's a bad system when it's in the best interest of 8-10 teams to lose. I realize that there's pros and cons to any system. I just think it's time to stop rewarding losing on purpose.

 

[tony d]

It is an issue I agree. To me I don't know what solution there could be but 1 needs to be found.

 

[lilphildub]

I think they have to change the whole salary cap model. The Warriors and Cavs have about $135 million in cap when the "salary cap" is at $99million. They do a hard cap and I think more star players will be spread throughout the league. I think its hard because one individual player can control the game more than any sport. The Oilers won't be making the playoffs with McDavid on the team. Seems bizarre to me but then you remember there's 18 skaters and a goalie every game. So teams are hoping to hit the jackpot at the draft with a star player

 

[Jack Straw]

I think the only sure fire way would be to implement relagation, but that will never happen. The league could set up something like de-facto relegation where a certain number of teams (say, bottom 4) would automatically be excluded from the playoffs the following season. So teams might be less willing to throw away a season if they know it will be at least 2 years before they can qualify for the playoffs. Short of that, maybe even the lottery odds a bit more. I don't think it would be fair to give all lottery teams the same odds though.

That said, and I know I'm a bit biased here, as ugly as recent seasons have been with the Sixers I don't think the league is complaining about them now. They're going to be a big draw both live and televised for a bunch of years to come.

 

[Aladyyn]

Not an issue.

 

[b1e9a8r5s]

Not an issue.

Ok, I'll bite. Why isn't 8 teams doing their best to lose an issue?

 

[Aladyyn]

Ok, I'll bite. Why isn't 8 teams doing their best to lose an issue?

Because how else are they going to become good?

 

[b1e9a8r5s]

Because how else are they going to become good?

Losing, given the current system makes perfect sense.

The question is, is the current system, that rewards losing the best way to go? I don't think it is.

 

[darko]

Because how else are they going to become good?

And that right there is exactly an issue.

 

[darko]

I think they have to change the whole salary cap model. The Warriors and Cavs have about $135 million in cap when the "salary cap" is at $99million. They do a hard cap and I think more star players will be spread throughout the league. I think its hard because one individual player can control the game more than any sport. The Oilers won't be making the playoffs with McDavid on the team. Seems bizarre to me but then you remember there's 18 skaters and a goalie every game. So teams are hoping to hit the jackpot at the draft with a star player

Hard cap will even things up.

If you are going to keep soft cap then you need harsher penalties for those teams going over it.

 

[Aladyyn]

Losing, given the current system makes perfect sense.

The question is, is the current system, that rewards losing the best way to go? I don't think it is.

What's your proposition then?

 

[b1e9a8r5s]

What's your proposition then?

At this point, I'd just give every team that misses the playoffs equal chances of winning the lottery. I'm tired of the system rewarding losing.

I'd rather see some team like the Pistons get lucky and win the lottery than rewarding the teams that are intentionally losing.

 

[Aladyyn]

At this point, I'd just give every team that misses the playoffs equal chances of winning the lottery. I'm tired of the system rewarding losing.

I'd rather see some team like the Pistons get lucky and win the lottery than rewarding the teams that are intentionally losing.

So how do bad teams get better?

 

[Terry Yake]

that's what happens when there's only 2-3 teams who have a legit shot at the title

 

[b1e9a8r5s]

So how do bad teams get better?

Draft better? Develop players? Make trades?

I'm just saying remove the incentive for losing. They could still get the 1st pick, but the chances are as good as any other team that misses the playoffs.

 

[darko]

If you remove an incentive to lose you also have to have harsher punishments for teams that go over the cap. Goes hand in hand.

 

[b1e9a8r5s]

If you remove an incentive to lose you also have to have harsher punishments for teams that go over the cap. Goes hand in hand.

Not necessarily. I'm not sure how I feel about the hard cap honestly.

Isn't part of the rationale behind bird rights and allowing teams to go over the cap too keep there own guys?

 

[darko]

Not necessarily. I'm not sure how I feel about the hard cap honestly.

Isn't part of the rationale behind bird rights and allowing teams to go over the cap too keep there own guys?

Keep the soft cap just implement harsher penalties.

 

[b1e9a8r5s]

To me the hard cap vs soft cap thing is interesting, but I don't see what it has to do with tanking.

I mean, it's related to a degree, but teams choose to lose because of how the lottery is set up, rewarding worse teams with increased odds the worse your record is. If next year there was a hard cap, teams would still be incentivized to lose (I realize the odds change some next year).

 

[Voight]

Sixers completed the biggest tank job in NBA history and its starting to show the results, no wonder teams want to tank.

With smaller market teams its their only way to acquire stars. Look at the T-Wolves, they knew they'd never be able to sign a big ticket free agent so they tanked, drafted one star, traded one of their existing stars for a top prospect and then traded another lottery pick for a third star.

Players are so ring-obsessed these days that you'll almost never see a top free agent sign with anyone outside of a short list of Lakers/Cavs/Heat/Mavs/Spurs/Warriors/Rockets/Knicks/Celtics etc. Gone are the days of teams like the Magic signing Grant Hill and then nearly signing Duncan.

 

[donghabs98]

So how do bad teams get better?

Investing in scouting and developing. Tanking and collecting top 3 picks shouldn't automatically make a team better. If a bad team wants to get better they should make whichever pick they have worth while. This isn' directed just at the NBA but at professional sports in general. Look at the Oilers for example, they have been getting top picks for years but it hasn't led them anywhere in part because of their inability to develop their players after their top picks. People look at the hawks as a reason to tank but if you look at their core only Toews and Kane were top 3 picks, guys like Seabrook, Saad and Keith weren't can't miss prospects, they were developed.

The intentions of rewarding lower seed teams seems logical but only if all teams are playing the same game (trying to compete to win), the system is broken when teams are taking advantage of it by internationally not competing. Those teams shouldn't be rewarded top picks for being bad because they didn't try to be good.

Is there a perfect system? No but there are alternatives they are surely better for ensuring competitive sports are actually competitive and for ensuring teams that deserve high picks have a good shot at it (teams who try to be good but just aren't).

 

[Blitzkrug]

The crappy thing is I don't think you can fix it without screwing over a team that actually needs the help. If you try and change the odds, you risking screwing a team like say, Memphis. They're god awful, but certainly not on purpose and actually trying to win games.

Look at the Avalanche last year. Honest to god awful team gets absolutely robbed of a top 3 pick and instead the system gives the picks to Dallas and Philly, neither of which were in desperate need of help

I say like, sort the odds by worst team per usual, but have like the 3 or 4 worst play for the pick.

 

[Vamos Rafa]

You can't say the Sixers have "completed" their tank job until they are one of the elite teams in the league with this core. Tanking is appalling and should never be emulated.

 

[NJDevs26]

Part of the reason teams tank is because of there being three or four superteams that nobody can compete with anyway, well one superteam and a handful other really good teams. What incentive do teams have to win when you'll never break into that top tier? So it's just easier to punt. Even teams like Atlanta that win 55-60 games a year a few years back (or the Thibodeau Bulls) are never a real threat in the playoffs without the great players who all want to play with each other now.

It's not like tanking is incentivized per se, there are seldom ready-made difference-makers in the draft anymore and the lottery itself seems like it screws over more teams than it benefits (i.e. the worst team doesn't usually get the top pick). I think you have to solve the whole stars joining up with each other problem before you can change tanking, the lack of parity at the top is the bigger issue.