Tanking For A High Pick

[thatlookseasy]

There was some discussion in another thread about this and I thought this was an interesting article on the subject. Especially since Rich Cho gave some input

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/39318/tanking-is-the-tip-of-the-iceberg

Tanking is the tip of the iceberg

In fact, when I talk about tanking, I'm not even talking about something players, or even coaches, are doing. I've watched the video, and looked at the substitution patterns. It is very tough to come up with strong evidence any players or coaches are doing anything other than trying to win.

For the GMs and owners of about half the teams in the league, however ... everybody knows it's not smart for them to try to win every game. They don't throw games by intentionally missing shots. But they do strip rosters bare of high-priced talent, hoarding cap dollars for another day, and knowing that the inevitable losses that ensue -- the tanking -- will come with some of the most valuable rewards in all of sports.

Or take this year's worst team, the Bobcats, now run by Cho, who is well-regarded. What's plaguing the Bobcats is a history of mistakes, but also the reality that the front office -- Michael Jordan, Rod Higgins, Cho and company -- is not doing all it can to win right now. If there are cheap free agents they could add to make this team better, they have not added them. If there are better coaches available, now would not be the time to hire them.

Cho says he made something like that a condition of his joining the team. "They called me the day after I got let go by Portland," he recalls of the Bobcats. Cho had three years left on his Portland contract, and had that finest of luxuries -- he simply didn't have to work. "I had thought about taking some time off, or teaching at a high school," he told me on a recent episode of TrueHoop TV. "I thought about maybe coaching high school tennis, which I've wanted to do for a long time."

But he flew to Charlotte for a conversation that came down to a key moment, when Cho asked if the Bobcats really wanted to win. As in, did they want to win so badly that they'd be willing to follow in the footsteps of Cho's former employer, the Thunder, who won 20 games one season, and then 23 the next, in the process of amassing the core of their current team?

In other words, Cho was asking, were they willing to lose? "Are you willing," Cho remembers asking, "to take a step back to take two steps forward?"

Cho says the room answered, unanimously, "yes." A few months later, that team is 7-40.

Cho explains how the Thunder did it. When they had cap room, they didn't use it. Massive losing streaks helped too. The team's point guard of the future (Russell Westbrook) learned on the job while leading the league in turnovers.

There is no suggestion that any of the players or coaches didn't try their hardest. But the fact is the front office trotted out a young, cheap and, frankly, bad team for a good long time. Intentionally. During those same years they could have been, with a different strategy, far more competitive. But if they had done that, they'd never be leading the Western Conference right now, because they wouldn't have gotten the good players that came with the good picks that came from losing.

[Toolbox]

That strategy has a serious flaw.. can you guess what it is??

[x djdrew x]

i would guess actually making good selections, which the bobcats have infamously not done AT ALL

[Panthers128]

There's no guarantee that the Bobcats will get the number one overall pick and there is no guarantee that even if they do get the number one overall pick that the player they pick will be a player worth building a franchise around.

Look at the past #1 overall picks (which I don't think the Bobcats will get due to the NBA being rigged and the lottery being a sham):

Kyrie Irving - (18.7ppg 4.0rpg 5.7apg)(WL 17-31) Seems like a special player but time will tell what his career will be like,

John Wall - (17ppg 4.7rpg 7.8apg)(WL 11-39) Team is probably the worst in the NBA over the past two seasons. Lots of potential.

Blake Griffin - (21.9ppg 11.6rpg 3.5apg)(WL 29-21) Team is decent after adding future hall of famer and lots of other free agents. Dunks a lot. All star.

Derrick Rose - (21.1ppg 3.9rpg 6.8apg)(WL 41-11) All he does is win but didn't beat LeBron in the playoffs. Youngest MVP ever. All star wins wins wins, what else can you ask for? Championships. Check back. Great talent around him.

Greg Oden - (Free Agent) No comment.

Andrea Bargnani - (19.1ppg 5.7rpg 2apg)(WL 17-34) Decent player. No all star appearances.

Andrew Bogut - (11.3ppg 8.3rpg 2.0bpg)(WL 20-29) Bust. No longer with team that drafted him. Serviceable big man when healthy, not what you want from a #1 though.

Dwight Howard - (20.9ppg 14.5rpg 2.16bpg)(WL 32-19) Should've been a Bobcat but the league screwed us. A regular on the NBA All Star team and Olympic squad. Lost in an NBA finals. Defensive player of the year.

LeBron James - (26.5ppg 8.3rpg 6.5apg)(36-13) Chose to leave the team that drafted him after being a All star, Olympian and MVP. No championships.

None of these teams have won an NBA Championship since they had the first overall pick. The Cavaliers and Magic played in NBA Championships and lost. Both teams made it to a championship because of their #1 picks who were the best players on their teams.

The Trailblazers were unlucky. The Raptors and Bucks didn't get what they probably were expecting and only time will tell how things will go for the Clippers, Cavaliers and Wizards.

The Bulls will probably be the first team of the bunch to win a championship and it'll be largely because of their selection.

The last overall #1 pick to win a championship with the team that drafted him is Tim Duncan with the Spurs and he was drafted in 1997.

Don't get your hopes too high.

[carolina-chuck]

There's no guarantee that the Bobcats will get the number one overall pick and there is no guarantee that even if they do get the number one overall pick that the player they pick will be a player worth building a franchise around.

Look at the past #1 overall picks (which I don't think the Bobcats will get due to the NBA being rigged and the lottery being a sham):

Kyrie Irving - (18.7ppg 4.0rpg 5.7apg)(WL 17-31) Seems like a special player but time will tell what his career will be like,

John Wall - (17ppg 4.7rpg 7.8apg)(WL 11-39) Team is probably the worst in the NBA over the past two seasons. Lots of potential.

Blake Griffin - (21.9ppg 11.6rpg 3.5apg)(WL 29-21) Team is decent after adding future hall of famer and lots of other free agents. Dunks a lot. All star.

Derrick Rose - (21.1ppg 3.9rpg 6.8apg)(WL 41-11) All he does is win but didn't beat LeBron in the playoffs. Youngest MVP ever. All star wins wins wins, what else can you ask for? Championships. Check back. Great talent around him.

Greg Oden - (Free Agent) No comment.

Andrea Bargnani - (19.1ppg 5.7rpg 2apg)(WL 17-34) Decent player. No all star appearances.

Andrew Bogut - (11.3ppg 8.3rpg 2.0bpg)(WL 20-29) Bust. No longer with team that drafted him. Serviceable big man when healthy, not what you want from a #1 though.

Dwight Howard - (20.9ppg 14.5rpg 2.16bpg)(WL 32-19) Should've been a Bobcat but the league screwed us. A regular on the NBA All Star team and Olympic squad. Lost in an NBA finals. Defensive player of the year.

LeBron James - (26.5ppg 8.3rpg 6.5apg)(36-13) Chose to leave the team that drafted him after being a All star, Olympian and MVP. No championships.

None of these teams have won an NBA Championship since they had the first overall pick. The Cavaliers and Magic played in NBA Championships and lost. Both teams made it to a championship because of their #1 picks who were the best players on their teams.

The Trailblazers were unlucky. The Raptors and Bucks didn't get what they probably were expecting and only time will tell how things will go for the Clippers, Cavaliers and Wizards.

The Bulls will probably be the first team of the bunch to win a championship and it'll be largely because of their selection.

The last overall #1 pick to win a championship with the team that drafted him is Tim Duncan with the Spurs and he was drafted in 1997.

Don't get your hopes too high.

Great post.

[King Taharqa]

Good post Sylvianlight.