Tanking is something fans hate. Is kind of unsportsmanlike as teams are pretty much giving up on competing and players are forced to lose in order to get a top-tier prospect that may take away their spot next season.
Even so, teams are never going to stop doing it, even despite the league’s efforts to end that by slightly changing the Draft lottery odds. So we might as well get used to it even if we hate it.
Having said that, there are several teams that should just give up on their seasons and tank their way through the campaign, as the top 5 picks of this upcoming Draft are quite promising. Today, we’re going to let you know about the 5 teams that should start tanking already.
5. Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are putting together quite an interesting team. Their youth-filled roster is really encouraging for the future, but that doesn’t mean that they should try and win right away this season.
The Bulls can put the icing on top of the cake with a top 5 pick next season. With Dunn, LaVine, Portis, Markkanen and Carter Jr, they could be competing for a couple years from now as a rising force in the East.
4. Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks signed DeAndre Jordan this year to enter win-now mode and put an end to their playoffs drought, but that shouldn’t be the way to go this season as they’re already a bit short on talent.
Doncic and Smith Jr are studs in the making and the team is slowly putting together a solid young core, so adding another top pick should be Mark Cuban’s main priority once again this season.
3. Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks don’t have the kind of talent to make a run in the East and they should just focus on developing John Collins and letting standout rookie Trae Young grow through his mistakes.
Young has the upside to become the next Steph Curry but that shouldn’t mean the Hawks need to hurry and try to win games right away, as they’re still one or two good players away from being a threat in the future.
2. Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers have gotten off to a pathetic start of the season and that hasn’t been because of tanking, but because they’re a major disaster. As a matter of fact, they’ve been a mess since last season, and they don’t have LeBron to bail them out anymore.
Cleveland is likely going to be at the bottom of the standings for most of the season, but they will be rewarded with a can’t-miss talent in either RJ Barrett or Zion Williamson, the so-called next LeBron James.
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1. New York Knicks
The New York Knicks haven’t been relevant in years and the best thing for them would be staying like that for another season, even shutting down Kristaps Porzingis for the season if they have to.
The Knicks are going to have a lot of cap space next season and New York is always an attractive destination for top-tier free agents, especially if they add yet another top 10 pick to the mix.
