The NBA hates tanking and wants to eradicate it by any means necessary. Former Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban doesn’t see it that way. In fact, he believes it’s a key component of the sport and that the league shouldn’t want to remove it but rather embrace it.
Mark Cuban supports tanking
The Dallas Mavericks aren’t tanking right now. They’re just struggling badly in the wake of the Luka Doncic trade. But if they were tanking for a better draft pick, former owner Mark Cuban wouldn’t see it as a negative.
He posted a tweet revealing why the NBA ought to embrace it. “The NBA has been misguided thinking that fans want to see their teams compete every night with a chance to win. It’s never been that way,” he began.
Cuban compared the NBA to an outing, saying that fans won’t remember the score of the game or who did what. They will, by and large, remember who they were with and the experience that they had. “That’s what makes the experience special,” he said.
He continued, “Fans know their team can’t win every game. They know only one team can win a ring. What fans that care about their team’s record want is hope. Hope they will get better and have a chance to compete for the playoffs and then maybe a ring.”
Ultimately, Cuban believes fans are more worried about the long-term viability of their team rather than a few wins or losses right now. The best way to set up for that viability is through the draft by accumulating top prospects.
Cuban even admitted that the Mavericks did tank a few times over his 23 years in charge, and fans generally appreciated it. He said tanking helped them land the assets needed to move up and draft Luka Doncic, a franchise-altering talent.
The NBA might disagree, but someone who’s been involved with a team believes tanking is not only a necessary evil but a key part of inspiring hope for fans.
Adam Silver is getting wild with anti-tanking sentiments
Adam Silver, NBA commissioner, does not agree with Mark Cuban in the slightest. He’s levied fines against teams he believes are tanking. He’s adjusted the lottery to try to prevent tanking. It hasn’t worked, but he’s not stopping trying to fix it.
Some of the ideas he’s posed are positively wild. Silver has threatened the removal of draft picks for tanking teams. He’s considering making it so that teams cannot pick in the top five twice in a row no matter what the lottery says.
The wildest (and worst) idea he has had is to remove the draft altogether. This would allow NBA rookies to enter as free agents and sign wherever they want. It goes without saying that this would be an unmitigated disaster.
Rookies would go to big markets or competitive teams, thereby removing any parity and preventing the bad teams from ever digging themselves out of the hole. As Cuban said, Luka Doncic changed their franchise, but would he have signed if he could’ve played anywhere? It’s unlikely.
The Charlotte Hornets, Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards, and others who’ve struggled for years would be stuck eternally. The Detroit Pistons crawled out of the basement, but would they have been able to do so without drafting players like Cade Cunningham? It’s not likely. They lead the East now thanks to those draft picks.
Silver wants to remove tanking, and he’s considering going to unfathomable lengths. Perhaps he should take Cuban’s word for it and embrace the tank and consider how it can positively impact teams and create more parity in the NBA.
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