[prophetmeirParticipant]

It seems like idea “Tanking” has been the main focus so far for many teams around the league. Since I am a Charlotte Hornets fan it has been the basis for what, many on this site seems to be the best option for the hornets. When we picked up Al jefferson it was mixed reviews from my city on how they felt about this. They thought it was stupid why in the world would we try to get good when we are not going to make the playoffs.

Well there is more than one way to build a team and “tanking” hasnt been good for the bobcats. For one we have had horrible luck in the draft and our picks havent panned out the way its suppose to . We dont have overseas scouts and we rely on one or two suggestions from upper management for our picks. So the model of MEMPHIS or INDIANA comes to mine make smart free agency moves and use the draft the fill in the gaps. To me thats how charlotte will become a contributing franchise and i think that more teams should try and follow that model.

[TallmanNYCParticipant]

Tanking almost never works. I can think of only one team that has tanked in the last seven years and is actually good right now because of their draft picks from their “tank” years. That is OKC. And if Portland had gone with Durrant instead of Oden with the number one pick, then we wouldn’t even have OKC as a good example. I don’t think we can count the Wolves as really having tanked. But they are enjoying two number five picks in Love and Rubio. They have yet to be “good” but they would have been last year if they hadn’t had injuries. It is certainly nice for Chicago that they got Derrick Rose as a number one pick. But really the Bulls win at a high rate without Rose in the lineup. Last season without Rose shows that the Bulls franchise is good and their coach is good. But I think we already knew that.

There are some good players in the next years draft and Wiggins could easily be a franchise player (frankly we will know more once we see him in meaningful NCAA games). But only one tanking team gets Wiggins. Dismantling your team for maybe a 25% chance of getting Wiggins seems a terrible strategy. I suspect that a bad franchise with a mediocre coach is still going to be a bad team for years to come even if you add Wiggins to their squad.

[TallmanNYCParticipant]

Tanking almost never works. I can think of only one team that has tanked in the last seven years and is actually good right now because of their draft picks from their “tank” years. That is OKC. And if Portland had gone with Durrant instead of Oden with the number one pick, then we wouldn’t even have OKC as a good example. I don’t think we can count the Wolves as really having tanked. But they are enjoying two number five picks in Love and Rubio. They have yet to be “good” but they would have been last year if they hadn’t had injuries. It is certainly nice for Chicago that they got Derrick Rose as a number one pick. But really the Bulls win at a high rate without Rose in the lineup. Last season without Rose shows that the Bulls franchise is good and their coach is good. But I think we already knew that.

There are some good players in the next years draft and Wiggins could easily be a franchise player (frankly we will know more once we see him in meaningful NCAA games). But only one tanking team gets Wiggins. Dismantling your team for maybe a 25% chance of getting Wiggins seems a terrible strategy. I suspect that a bad franchise with a mediocre coach is still going to be a bad team for years to come even if you add Wiggins to their squad.

[PistonsFan22Participant]

It’s not “tanking”. It’s not like the players and coaches are just going to say well let’s lose bad everyone! There is no guarantee that any team will get that number one pick or even into the lottery but there are smart GMs that realize that this draft is a solid chance to start rebuilding. It’s smart business to have better odds in the draft next year if you aren’t going to be in the hunt for a championship. Sure Charlotte MIGHT have had more bad luck and have gotten another top 5 pick instead of the number 1 pick but there are some great players at the top of the draft next year that aren’t Andrew Wiggins. You don’t have to land the number 1 pick to like your draft position next year. It’s not like it’s just Wiggins and everyone else has no chance of being a franchise type of player.

So instead of being really bad for one more season Charlotte chooses this season of all seasons to go grab an effective free agent. And for what? You have an outside chance to get into the playoffs as an 8 seed next season! Where does this get you? All they had to do is wait one more season, it’s not like the end of the world to be awful for one more season. Couldn’t they have taken one more stab at a loaded draft and then went after a veteran free agent next season. What’s the rush to get to mediocrity this season?The timing is incredibly strange. Charlotte loses their draft pick if they do not have a pick within the top ten. It’s just bad business!

Scouts are raving about this draft in particular for a very good reason, this isn’t normal predraft hype. Anyone with eyes can see there are some real difference makers next season. If Charlotte loses their pick next year it will just set them back even further. For a team like Charlotte with a history of losing, the better odds are building through the draft first and then adding free agents when you have a set core. What franchise changing player is going to skip over franchises with a history of winning to come to Charlotte that has no sense of direction? At least through the draft you can assemble a team that can grow together and build a winning culture and then become a more attractive destination to free agents.

[PistonsFan22Participant]

It’s not “tanking”. It’s not like the players and coaches are just going to say well let’s lose bad everyone! There is no guarantee that any team will get that number one pick or even into the lottery but there are smart GMs that realize that this draft is a solid chance to start rebuilding. It’s smart business to have better odds in the draft next year if you aren’t going to be in the hunt for a championship. Sure Charlotte MIGHT have had more bad luck and have gotten another top 5 pick instead of the number 1 pick but there are some great players at the top of the draft next year that aren’t Andrew Wiggins. You don’t have to land the number 1 pick to like your draft position next year. It’s not like it’s just Wiggins and everyone else has no chance of being a franchise type of player.

So instead of being really bad for one more season Charlotte chooses this season of all seasons to go grab an effective free agent. And for what? You have an outside chance to get into the playoffs as an 8 seed next season! Where does this get you? All they had to do is wait one more season, it’s not like the end of the world to be awful for one more season. Couldn’t they have taken one more stab at a loaded draft and then went after a veteran free agent next season. What’s the rush to get to mediocrity this season?The timing is incredibly strange. Charlotte loses their draft pick if they do not have a pick within the top ten. It’s just bad business!

Scouts are raving about this draft in particular for a very good reason, this isn’t normal predraft hype. Anyone with eyes can see there are some real difference makers next season. If Charlotte loses their pick next year it will just set them back even further. For a team like Charlotte with a history of losing, the better odds are building through the draft first and then adding free agents when you have a set core. What franchise changing player is going to skip over franchises with a history of winning to come to Charlotte that has no sense of direction? At least through the draft you can assemble a team that can grow together and build a winning culture and then become a more attractive destination to free agents.

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