What's the point of tanking? I know everyone says we need a Franchise player to win the championship, but how many true Franchise come out every year from the top 5 picks? I'm talking about players that can actually change the energy of the franchise and make you believe they can contend if they build around that guy. Let's look at the last few years: 2011: Kyle Irving (1st pick) is the only one that looks to have potential but is still to early to tell 2010: None (John Wall is likely at best an all star at some point) 2009: Blake Griffin is borderline 2008: Derrick Rose - Franchise Player 2007: Kevin Durant - Franchise Player 2006: None 2005: DWill, CP3 - Franchise Player 2004: DH12 - Franchise Player 2003: Lebron, Dwade Franchise Player and borderline Carmelo Anthony 2002: Yao Ming - Franchise Player So in the last 10 drafts, with 50 top 5 picks, we're looking at Eight to Ten true Franchise players. That means it's actually likely that if you're building to tank, you can tank for 10 years straight and not draft a real Franchise player. Tanking does not get you a Franchise player, luck does. What a lot of time you'll get if you're still some what lucky is an all-star level player like Lamarcus Aldridge, Russell Westbrook or Chris Bosh and you become a playoff team like .. well what the Rockets are right now. If you have decent luck, you draft a rotation player like Al Hortford or O.J. Mayo (like Rockets actually consistently get with low first round, early second round). If you have bad luck, you draft Hasheem Thabeet. Once again, tanking does not get you a Franchise player, odds that you actually tank for 10 years and never get a Franchise player are not low. Most teams aren't going to tank for 10 years, and will end up drafting an all star player at some point, and become a playoff contending team like the Rockets are right now. So what if we get really lucky and draft a Franchise player by tanking? of the past 10 drafts, only Wade, DH12, Rose and KD are still with the teams that drafted them. Only Wade and DH12 have been with their team for more than 6 years. Most of the time, players leave and the teams revert to "tanking" or if lucky.... a playoff contender like the Rockets.
A much better way to look at that list is to look at the best teams in the league right now. The top 5 team records in the league are Chicago, OKC, Miami, San Antonio and Orlando. It's not a guarantee but there is a real good chance that one of those teams will win the championship this year. Four out of the five of those teams have one of the players on your list and the only exception is the Spurs who have the number one draft pick from 1997. Further, all five of the teams still have that superstar left on their team. People arguing that tanking doesn't guarantee you a championship are missing the point.
I agree with you, Op... The draft is a crapshoot at best and if yer not in the top 3 your chances get ridiculously thin... That said, you'll never convince the pro tankers on this board that its fool's gold.... They only remember the Durants, Roses, and LeBrons... and never believe they could be Darko'ed or Tha'busted as payment for years of dismal teams....
If you tank long enough you'll get an All-Star level player..... For a couple of years before they want to move to a bigger market. Play to Win always.
Definitely agree. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IMk5sMHj58I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Detroit proved you don't need to tank to win the championship, or heck, to even stay competitive for as long as they did. They went to the finals twice, and the eastern conference finals 4 times. No superstar. That said, tanking IS one way to do it of course, but just like some fans here don't like to sit through mediocrity, some of us don't like to sit through games where the goal is to lose.
None of them were all stars when they got to Detroit. They earned those honors by playing well as a team.
kyrie irving and derrick rose didn't go to teams that tanked (or at least didn't tank for the pick), one was for taking on baron's contract, lol, the other was just luck with the lottery. Then you go back and you see a lot of players who aren't with their team anymore.
Richard Hamilton was pretty good when they traded for him. They gave up Stackhouse after a down year for him but Stack had made the all star team the two years prior.
lol at dwill being a franchise player. If i wanted to tank, that would be my ' franchise player'. too late to tank, time to bring in the air raids.
82 games in a season, If I ever watch Rockets tank, it will be a long time before I come back and watch. Don't give me we tanked and we got Hakeem, remember we have a lottery system now a little harder to tank than before. Free-agency is more viable to find a franchise player than through the draft.
well now its too late anyway. i predict with the way the team currently looks we will are 6-12 in the western conference for multiple years. I havent seen any recent evidence of us acquiring a franchise player other than through the draft. wait. i forgot we got ariza.
good thing the giants didn't cave in and tank for a better draft pick last year. i know, i know, apples and oranges. remember the two boston championship series we participated in with mediocre teams? remember? man up.
