While one NBA GM recently admitted to ESPN.com that he is tanking this season in order to score in the loaded 2014 NBA Draft, one of his colleagues actually says a half dozen teams are doing the same thing.
“Utah is going young which is understandable and Denver is looking to lower their payroll,” the NBA exec told SNY.tv. “Orlando and Sacramento just aren’t good enough because of the jobs of their predecessors, but Philadelphia and Phoenix are obvious [in tanking the season] with Philadelphia not even trying to hide it.”
Perhaps it was one of these GMs who told ESPN.com, “Our team isn’t good enough to win and we know it…Sometimes my job is to understand the value of losing.”
Said the NBA exec to SNY.tv: “I guess he has good camouflage because there are about six others doing the same thing.”
The 2014 Draft is loaded, with one NBA GM telling SNY.tv it’s a four-player draft, highlighted at the top by Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle, Aaron Gordon and Australian Dante Exum.
The NBA exec said the phenomenon of teams tanking, though, may have more to do with “unqualified GMs” than with this particular draft.
“What nobody ever talks about is that it has more to do with unqualified GMs hoping to extend their lifeline than it is about this draft,” he said. “When you sell losing as success you can’t be indicted for failing.
“I think knowing you’re not qualified or confident you can build a competitive team has led those GMs to sell this draft as cover for their inability to do their job.”
