In the endless talk of the demise of the Dubs, there has been nothing but pessimism and mentions of tanking. Amongst the many pundits, critics, bloggers and social media influencers (of which I am not one), I must be the only one who thinks tanking is a TERRIBLE idea.
Before I get to to my reasons, let me point out the obvious reasons in which to tank. Each one valid, but still the concept overall is disagreeable:
- get a high draft pick
…that’s all. That’s the only benefit to tanking.
Now for why I disagree (especially as a Golden State Warriors fan):
Being a star is about opportunity — Really, it’s true. In today’s NBA, the only thing that separates a major star from a role player is the amount of opportunities a player has to make mistakes. The quantity may be determined by salary or how high in the draft the player went. Therefore, there’s a vested interested in seeing a prospect make it, but true skill is often not a factor.
Nonetheless, what makes Anthony Davis “better” than, say, Julius Randle is the amount of opportunities Davis has had to mess up, to be injured, and still demand the ball go through him on offense. Perhaps too, management and coaches’ egos keep giving a player chances so they’re not proven wrong in their decision to draft.
Lottery draft picks rarely turn out in the end. There are countless examples of lottery picks just not panning out: Darko Milicic, Kwame Brown, Michael Olowokandi, Andrea Bargnani, Markelle Fultz. To waste an entire season tanking to get a high draft pick that may not work out seems like a risky move to me.
Young, proven “vets” are more valuable than a rookie prospect. Players that were undrafted, went the G-League route and make it to the league seem to be extra thirsty competitors who want to stay in the upper echelons of basketball. They know and have what it takes to compete at the NBA level.
A rookie coming out of college, especially high school, is still adjusting to the big man’s league. It can take three to four years for that prospect to even be relevant to an NBA team any way (i.e. Jermaine O’Neal). Draft now, maybe reap rewards later is not a good look.
Winning DNA. If you are or are building a championship-level team what type of DNA do you want to infuse in your team culture and chemistry? I watched the Warriors, Clippers, Mavericks, Bucks, and more suffer for many years trying to get that elusive Kobe-Bryant-type draft pick only to be let down year after year. Their cultures took a turn for the worst and took years to build back to even being respectable.
Take the Los Angeles Clippers for instance. They could have tanked last year, got a decent draft pick and rebuilt for the next upmteen years. Rather they remained competitive, gave the Warriors fits in the first round of the playoffs and built a championship DNA. That DNA attracted the likes of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George and now the Clips are on the verge of dominating the NBA for the foreseeable future.
If you’re the Warriors, you still have Steph, Klay and Draymond in the fold. Let your young players develop, but don’t call it tanking. When you’re a champion, stay a champion by competing to the fullest. Leave the tanking to the teams who have no interest in ever winning anything.
