NBA Tanking Strategy Becoming More of a Problem
NBA teams are imposing a losing strategy to deal with the draft wheel lottery. Perhaps teams are not trying to lose but they sure are not giving 100% to win their games.
The league cannot survive NBA tanking or losing games on purpose.
Are there too many meaningless games toward the end of the season that accounts for the tanking to gain a draft lottery advantage. Does it make sense for teams to lose. It is moving in that direction and quite evident this NBA season.
NBA tanking strategy
Competitive teams who are known to be in the playoffs do rest their top players on occasion knowing they might lose the game. This strategy is part of a coaching decision and a player request. The wear and tear on the player is a real physical demand and will effect a playoff run. Resting these players is needed for the body to regroup and get ready for the post season.
Rebuilding a bottom NBA team takes shrewd trades for future high draft picks. Free agency is very expensive but worth the investment when a proven star is on the open market. How do you get the free agent to sign for the big contract is not always about the money but who the player wants to play for and the possibility of a championship ring. There are no guarantees when dealing with player potential and if the selection fits their team plans and chemistry. A losing franchise can dwell at the bottom unless management decides to lose and build through high draft picks.
This is bad for public relations with the fans and the integrity of the league.
Resting your top players when there are meaningless games is needed although the fans will suffer when paying to see their favorite player. But when the worst teams playing to lose for a high lottery pick is pathetic. But it happens more often and there needs to be a solution.
Have teams been tanking for a long time because it works. A losing performance enhances a chance of landing a choice selection spot in the draft. Winning by losing is the mantra for teams to rebuild. Superior talent is very rare to acquire in the NBA. Free agency is the first choice but getting a few top players out of college is a close second choice and not as expensive as a free agent superstar. The incentive to lose is reaching new heights and is a big problem for the NBA. A loophole exists and teams are taking advantage without any guilt associated with intentionally losing. When options are very limited, teams need to improvise and be open to all ways to improve.
The NBA needs to look at this problem for it own integrity and paying customers but their past indifference needs a solution and cannot be ignored anymore. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver responded to the problem of tanking to improve draft position as “a different kind of resting”. Silver called it serious but not a new issue for the league.
Silver was at the Governors meeting discussing the state of the NBA and new proposals. The commissioner said ” the subject of the lottery, the odds for the lottery, how so-called picks are protected in trades is something we discussed at our board meeting and agreed to revisit it in a holistic way”.
In other words, the commissioner is down-playing the tanking topic but will discuss a solution later. Do not expect any quick fix or changes to improve this league problem. A typical political response to talk around a problem with no creative ideas to change the status quo.
