Ford: 7 teams prepared to tank for wiggins

[rondohondo]

Chad Ford said on Twitter Tuesday night that as many as seven teams could be ready to tank the upcoming season in hopes of landing Canadian phenom Andrew Wiggins.
It's pretty clear that the Suns, Bobcats, 76ers, Celtics and Magic should all be pretty brutal, while the Hawks (if they don't get Dwight Howard) and Raptors (if they send Rudy Gay's contract to Detroit) will also be pretty bad, and we'll add the Bucks to the mix. We also know that 14 teams will be in the lottery and in addition to Wiggins, next year's draft should be one of the best in recent memory. It could be a long year for a lot of NBA havenots, but only one is going to be lucky enough to see the ping pong balls fall in their favor. You have to think the Bobcats are the front runner at this point, but the team with the best odds doesn't usually win the lottery. Jul 3 - 1:34 AM
Source: Chad Ford on Twitter

http://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1260726

I'm going to say c's finish with the 3rd-5th worst record . Danny knows how to tank, he's already done it. Rondo says he has no timetable for a return.

Even if we get the 4th or 5th pick, it will still be a very good prospect and trade chip to land someone like Aldridge or Love next year.

[rondoallaturca]

I'm not adding the Bucks. Realistically, they're not going to challenge the rest of the league for being one of the worst teams. In fact, I could see them vying for a playoff spot still. The Bucks have never been gutsy enough to try to tank, and this offseason is no different as they seem ready to match any offer sheet for Jennings, and are looking to pay a guy like Korver over $6M a year.

That being said, factoring in Atlanta and Toronto, that means the C's are in the mix to being one of the worst 7 teams in the NBA, and as things stand, I think they could certainly be one of the worst 5. And this is with Rondo.

I'm really liking our future. We can keep Rondo, we have a realistic shot at nabbing a great position in a loaded draft, and we still have lots of assets to move around.

[Birdman]

Lke I said before, if we did have the worst record, we would get the 4th pick b/c Stern would make sure of it.

[rondoallaturca]

Lke I said before, if we did have the worst record, we would get the 4th pick b/c Stern would make sure of it.

Ignoring the Stern comment, I really wouldn't be surprised that even if we somehow managed the worst record, we'd get shafted and get a 4th pick or so considering the franchise's history with luck. That being said, in this loaded draft, a 4th pick would still be very, very good.

[wdleehi]

Until the season starts, it is not fair to label any of these teams as tankers. 

This seems more like "I need something to write about, let's say a bunch of teams are tanking.'

[Birdman]

And right now if all the rosters stay the same this is my predictions of top 5 worst teams:

1. Orlando
2. Milwaukee
3. Charlotte
4. Philadelphia
5. Toronto

Now things can change if Gay is traded and Josh Smith is gone..

[rondohondo]

I would put the Lakers in there if Dwight leaves. Broke down Kobe, elderly Nash,aging Pau. That has tank written all over it .

[saltlover]

Lucky Suns!  6 teams tanking in the east, who will all win games against each other.  The Suns get to tank out there in the West by themselves, or maybe with Sacramento.  They could be better than several teams in the East, but still have a worse record.

[Quetzalcoatl]

The Bucks will still have Larry Sanders, Brandon Jennings, Ilysova and they haven't given up on Ellis yet.  They could totally get the 7th or 8th seed.  There are 5 guaranteed playoff teams next year in the East: 

Miami
New York
Brooklyn
Chicago
Indiana

So we're only worried about getting one of 3 spots.  On top of that, Cleveland and Washington both are going to intentionally win games next year as well.  Detroit is a hair off of making a move for a marquee free agent, which will put them into that third place. Toronto now has Kyle Lowry and Rudy Gay, so they should be better than us too.

In the West, think of this: the 4th worst team last year was the TWolves, who had 31 wins and will be greatly improved next year.  The West just can't compete with the outright horrificness of the East's worst teams.  They just can't.  We can outlose them any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

[rondoallaturca]

And right now if all the rosters stay the same this is my predictions of top 5 worst teams:

1. Orlando
2. Milwaukee
3. Charlotte
4. Philadelphia
5. Toronto

Now things can change if Gay is traded and Josh Smith is gone..

How the heck is Milwaukee all the way at #2 when they're committed to staying a middling team? They're bringing back Jennings, looking to add a wing shooter, and still have Ilyasova, Sanders, and a quickly emerging Henson. That is a playoff team in the East.

For me, as the rosters currently stand:

1. Philadelphia
2. Charlotte
3. Phoenix
4. Cleveland
5. Orlando
6. Boston

Thanks to all the other borderline bad teams looking to overspend (Minnesota, Sacramento, New Orleans, Detroit), I'm liking our chances even with Rondo on the roster. Also, I think it's awesome how only one Western conference team is slated to be one of the worst teams in the league next year.

[Celtics18]

The competition is fierce.  It'll be a tough battle with a bunch of proud teams scratching, clawing, and fighting to see who can be worst.

I love it.  This is what the spirit of sport is all about. 

[boscel33]

Make it six, i'd rather get randle.

[Quetzalcoatl]

The competition is fierce.  It'll be a tough battle with a bunch of proud teams scratching, clawing, and fighting to see who can be worst.

I love it.  This is what the spirit of sport is all about.

I really hope this is the year that League Pass finally rolls out HD for all games. 

[ChainSmokingLikeDino]

Why Chad Ford, and the language of tanking, is wrong:

http://www.sbnation.com/2013/7/2/4487046/boston-celtics-philadelphia-76ers-tanking-nba-2013


http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2013/7/3/4489712/nba-free-agency-2013-rebuilding-tanking

[LooseCannon]

I expect the Wizards (aka the team that gave Martell Webster a four-year full MLE contract) to have a decent chance at finding a way to suck.  Sure, they may have John Wall for a full season, but will Nene and Okafur both be healthy and non-declining?  They added Eric Mynor, but there is reportedly mutual interest in Antawn Jamison coming back.  I wouldn't be shocked to see them finish with less than 30 wins.

The Mavericks strike me as a team that could shift into tank mode if they don't land a big free agent.

If Dwight Howard leaves, could the Lakers find themselves near the bottom, especially if Nash and/or Gasol have injury problems?  How bad will the conspiracy theories be if the Lakers end up with the 9th-worst record, the Celtics with the 7th-worst record, and both teams end up with one of the top three picks?