In fantasy basketball keeper leagues, should tanking be allowed?

[nickagneta]

I belong to a couple of fantasy basketball leagues, both keeper leagues, and this year a very contentious subject in both leagues has been tanking. A lot of teams look to have purposely tanked, much like the real NBA, to get a hold of the young talent that is available in this draft. The subject has been broached in the past but not nearly as much as this year.

So for those that play fantasy basketball in keeper leagues, I have to ask, should tanking be allowed?

It happens in the real NBA. Why should fantasy leagues be any different? If the thought pattern is the best way(most sure way) to improve your team is drafting a young stud then shouldn't it be allowed. Obviously teams that tank are giving up on trying to win the championship so if you want to win a title, others tanking makes it easier to rack up wins and make the playoffs and possibly win a title.

I lean on the side of allowing it, probably most because it happens in non-fantasy basketball but also because it is so darn hard to definitively prove. The measurable actions or inactions that must be implemented and judged by someone to prove that tanking is being done on purpose is just a little too foggy for my taste.

Wondering what others think.

[Roy H.]

It depends on the type of tanking.

In general, if a team loads up on young guys, hoping they'll develop, I don't have a problem with that.

If a team intentionally sits players, though (beyond merely forgetting to set lineups once in awhile), then there should be some sort of punishment, especially if its against the rules of the league.

One of the reasons this is detrimental to a league is because often, the decision to tank comes later in the year.  A team could have put up a fight against Team A, but sat all its players against Team B.  If Team A and Team B are then fighting for a playoff spot, it's not really a great situation.

If there are no rules against it, then it's more a moral decision for each manager to make.  If there are specific rules, though, then the Commissioner needs to come up with some sort of fair punishment (perhaps barring teams that are deemed to have tanked from the top four picks, or something of that nature.)

[Donoghus]

Just structure the league differently.

I'm in a 10 team fantasy baseball roto league. 

Person who finishes 6th drafts 1st the next season.  7th picks 2nd, 8th picks 3rd, 9th pick 4th, 10th picks 5th.  Then 5th place drafts 6th and so on 'til 1st drafts 10th.   

It's not a perfect system but it helps. 

[fairweatherfan]

It depends on the type of tanking.

In general, if a team loads up on young guys, hoping they'll develop, I don't have a problem with that.

If a team intentionally sits players, though (beyond merely forgetting to set lineups once in awhile), then there should be some sort of punishment, especially if its against the rules of the league.

At least in the league I'm in with Nick, it's the latter.  With a side of a team or two stacking  their roster with guys who aren't in the league.  I don't mean like Euros who haven't come over yet, but guys like Lamar Odom and Delonte West.

[action781]

I am commissioner of a keeper league.  We've instituted a "loser tax" that the last place team has to pay which is half the entry fee.  The money goes into the pot to the winner.  It keeps the bottom teams pretty active.

Some GMs in my league want the fee upped higher.

Or you could do what these guys do... https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/shutdown-corner/fantasy-football-tattoo-league-makes-sure-losing-owner-192327760--nfl.html

[indeedproceed]

In my fooseball fantasy keeper league, the draft is randomized . We still get some tanking in the way that the losers trade every asset they have to get picks in the following draft, but still, really no outright benefit to outright sitting guys, unless you're playing spoiler to let another team win late in the season, but that's mostly collusion.

[mkogav]

My two cents.

In FBB building a FBB roster around injured players, rookies, and international guys is not tanking IMO. It's smart roster management for a rebuilding team. In the NBA, teams like Orlando, Phili, and Boston took the NBA equivalent approach.

In FBB, this approach starts to enter a "tanking" gray zone area when the GM has the Lamar Odoms and Delonte Wests of the world on their roster. IMO this is just lazy and bad GM'ng. With a little planning, research, and general activeness those deadbeat NBA castoff could have been 2013 #1 picks like Livo Jean Charles, Sergey Karasev or Solomon Hill. These rookie aren't playing, but are/were on the waiver wire (LJC is overseas, but is a player listed Y!). One or two may develop into a player while Lamar and Delonte will never play in the NBA again.

Not setting lineups / leaving a team's best players on the bench IS tanking and should be dealt with severely. NBA teams do occasionally do this, but not often. In fact, given the Epic-ness of this year's draft, I can't recall one case of a NBA team tanking this season.

In FBB, it's out of control. I am in 4 keeper leagues and this year's be awful. I am hoping it's just b/c of this draft and will disipate next year.

Example:

One unnamed GM in one of my full-keeper leagues did not set his roster for more than a month and was very spotty for a month or two before that. This was abominable considering how stacked and mostly healthy his roster already is. This was easily recognizable tanking and irritates me to no end.

Mk

[Eja117]

What MK said.