Tank You Very Much

Posted by Jared Conger on September 14, 2008

‘Golden State: Ready to Tank?’

So, who is it gonna be?

Who will be tanking this season in hopes of landing the #1 pick in next years draft?

Past tankers have included: San Antonio (cashed in on Tim Duncan), Miami (semi-worked, they got Beasely), Seattle (sold the house to get a car in Kevin Durrant) as well as Cleveland (LeBron).

Why do I sense a Golden State tanking this year? Could it be because Monte Ellis is to be out for 3-4 months with a high ankle sprain? Perhaps it’s because they lost Baron Davis, and Matt Barnes this offseason and will be on the outside looking in for a majority of the season - in fact it would be outright shocking to see them in the playoffs this year. Yes; SHOCKING!

But, for the most part I think it has something to do with salary’s they will be relieved of very soon:

Stephen Jackson is on for two more years - making him trading bait next summer.

Al Harrington is on the books for two more as well, but at a cool $9.2 mill this year, and a slick $10 mill next year; look for a trade there as well.

Adonal Foyal is coming off the books at the end of this 2008-09 season as well: $6.8 million in relief!!! (yes he’s still in the league)

But beyond that don’t you feel like they will be needing another compliment to Anthony Randolph, Maggette, and Ellis? - and no, it’s not Andris Biedrins.

My list of teams most likely to tank this year:
Golden State - you read it above, now dispute it
OKC Thunder - the players will be awfully down as soon as they see the new uni’s
Chicago - while other pick them to make the playoffs, I pick them for infuriority… go fig…
New York - of course you saw this coming right? This is the last year they can try to not give us a lottery pick.
Memphis - if I didn’t put them on this list, what good would I be doing?
Minnesota - although technically I like the T-Wolves, I just don’t see them making that final hurdle into the 30 win seasons again.

4 Comments

J R Stewart on September 14, 2008 said:

I’d pick Memphis. They’ve given away most of their assets, don’t seem to have a clue or care about it either.

I don’t think NY’s new management and coaching will be looking to the tank this year, but may end up there anyway.

OK will want to impress their new fans.

The Wolves are up and coming.

The Bulls just might try to pull an Orlando with back to back #1s.

Jazzaholic

J R Stewart on September 14, 2008 said:

Oh, I forgot. If Don can’t play some Nellie Ball and have some fun, he’ll rather be sitting on the beach in Hawaii, having the whales swim by just to watch him. If he can’t see any wins, he’ll probably retire, again.

Jazzaholic

Mr. Bytheway on September 14, 2008 said:

Good call on “the city” there. I can totally see that happening.

Teams that I think are possibilities for tanking:

Oklahoma City THUNDER!!!! - mostly because their GM Sam Presti is a smooth operator, and if they underperform for the the first few months then stockpiling another high draft pick is a big possibility. A shame what another terrible season might do for Kevin Durrant’s future, though.

Charlotte Bobcats - Larry Brown is there, and if the team stinks he definitely won’t take the fall. He’ll just tell MJ that he needs a high pick, and then when the team is terrible in 09-10 he can finally just disappear.