NBA tanking rankings: Eight groups in greatest place to sag for Duke star Cooper Flagg

Ah, tank-related puns. I’ve missed you. No person was price a rhyme final season. Victor Wembanyama actually was earlier than that, however his title is not simply punnable (although we must always give a shoutout the Reddit commenter who coined “Wembanyamarama”). However this season? We get a simple one. Really, we get a number of. There’s the plain “sag for Flagg” in honor of Duke ahead Cooper Flagg, however “drag for Flagg” and “waive the white Flagg” additionally work (as soon as once more, thanks Reddit).

That is what a race to the underside ought to seem like: loads of enjoyable puns, much more unhealthy groups residing by them. There are at the very least 4 groups actively combating to succeed in the underside within the Japanese Convention within the 2024-25 season. No person is working fairly so arduous out West, however they will not must. There are a few groups that might be unhealthy organically, however the remainder of the convention might be so good that these groups will get pounded into submission, and one or two harm circumstances will be part of them. When the mud settles, there ought to be a reasonably identifiable caste of seven or eight groups eagerly steering towards Duke’s elite freshman.

So naturally, we’ll rank them. Whereas there will definitely be a shock or two when the tanking actually heats up in March and April, these are the eight groups best-positioned to lose because it stands at present.

Hey umm… what is going on on with Kawhi Leonard? He was on the cusp of coming again earlier than the playoffs, after which proceeded to play simply twice in opposition to the Dallas Mavericks. He was picked for Workforce USA after which left earlier than the Olympics began. It is coaching camp and he is not practicing yet. With Paul George gone and James Harden’s scoring prowess considerably diminished from its peak, a wholesome Leonard goes to be important if the Clippers hope to even contend for a Play-In Event spot. If these knee points persist, and with Leonard they have a tendency to, there’s quite a lot of catastrophe potential. After all, all the league is rooting for Leonard’s well being. The Oklahoma City Thunder management the following three Clippers’ first-round picks, and the very last thing 29 different groups need to see is Flagg in a Thunder uniform. The George commerce has already gotten the Thunder Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jaylen Williams, and there is nonetheless extra worth left to be mined from it.

Brandon Miller had a promising rookie season. Charles Lee is a promising rookie coach. Typically talking, successful groups do not have the phrase “rookie” connected to a number of key items, however that is the place the Hornets are. They’re inching their method again in the fitting course with a brand new coach, entrance workplace and franchise participant, however this stuff are likely to take time. The place the veterans are involved, well being is the larger concern. LaMelo Ball has performed 58 whole video games over the previous two seasons, and rising younger rim-protector Mark Williams performed solely 19 a 12 months in the past. Seth Curry and Taj Gibson are the one gamers on the roster at present with greater than 5 years of expertise. Having an additional lottery decide by no means hurts. In a couple of years, the Hornets have an opportunity to be good. 

The Jazz have roughly performed .500 basketball by means of the top of January in every of the final two seasons. From Feb. 1 on in these seasons, they’ve a mixed report of 18-45. Danny Ainge has assembled an excessive amount of expertise to tank correctly for 82 video games, however that hasn’t stopped him from kneecapping his staff on the previous two deadlines. That is going to be a bit more durable this time round. He is operating out of veterans to commerce, although if there are worthwhile presents for Collin Sexton, Walker Kessler and Jordan Clarkson, all of them appear accessible. Lauri Markkanen pushes the ground up too excessive for Utah to land within the backside 5, however as long as Utah owes Oklahoma Metropolis its protected first-round decide (top-10 this season, top-eight subsequent season), you’ll be able to depend on Ainge to do every thing in his energy to maintain Utah a protected distance away from the Play-In Event. That this 12 months’s roster is considerably youthful and extra uncooked than the earlier two solely helps the trouble. Gamers like Keyonte George, Taylor Hendricks, Cody Williams and Isaiah Collier all have NBA futures, however their presents depart loads to be desired.

The Bulls have taken an intentional step again. Their defensive anchor (and solely constant constructive) from final season now performs for the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder. Their offensive engine is a Sacramento King. Getting Zach LaVine again would possibly offset a few of what was misplaced with DeMar DeRozan. The Bulls haven’t any reply by any means for the lack of Alex Caruso, and their protection goes to be depressing consequently. The offense is extra of a query. There’s expertise right here, however the match is iffy. Josh Giddey would be the place to begin guard. How usually will he have the ball with LaVine, Coby White, Nikola Vucevic and others demanding touches? Is there sufficient taking pictures right here to help the non-shooting Giddey? Finally expertise retains the Bulls out of absolutely the backside, however when a staff tells you it is rebuilding, it is sensible to imagine them. The Bulls made that declaration by buying and selling Caruso and DeRozan.

The protection has a path to being, properly, not good, however at the very least skilled. Ausar Thompson is nice. Jalen Duren has glorious instruments. Cade Cunningham ought to be stable defensively as main ball-handlers go. However the offense is an issue. A significant one, as a result of there’s simply no taking pictures right here. Their final two lottery picks, Thompson and Ron Holland, are, up to now, absolute non-shooters. Cunningham and Jaden Ivey have to date been a shade under common. Tobias Harris and Tim Hardaway Jr. had been introduced in to offer spacing for the kids, however they a lot desire creating their very own appears than organising others. Hardaway made simply 35.2% of his catch-and-shoot 3’s final season. Harris was at 36.5%. Neither could have MVP candidates creating appears for them anymore. There’s a likelihood the Pistons have the NBA’s worst offense this season, and that alone will get Detroit into the combination. 

Portland has way more NBA expertise than your typical bottom-three staff. Jerami Grant, Deandre Ayton, Deni Avdija and Anfernee Simons would all be viable starters on good groups, to say nothing of the latest draft picks that might doubtlessly blossom. However keep in mind, someone has to complete final within the Western Convention. It is not Portland’s fault there are 14 good groups forward of them. Portland actually ought to have traded off a veteran or two by now, however a part of their excuse for not tanking extra aggressively is probably going that they need not. The schedule will maintain that for them. The truth that their offense will at the very least partially run by means of a second-year level guard coming off of a disappointing rookie marketing campaign in Scoot Henderson solely makes issues more durable. This season is about improvement, not successful.

Keep in mind what we talked about with Chicago? When a staff tells you it needs to tank, imagine them. The Nets did not simply commerce away their greatest participant in Mikal Bridges. They looped within the Rockets to commerce for their very own first-round decide again within the course of. Your personal draft picks are the one belongings in all of basketball whose worth you’ll be able to management. You may’t pressure a participant to get higher. You may’t make a staff whose decide you personal lose. However you’ll be able to actually set your self as much as lose as a lot of your personal video games as attainable. That is the one purpose to exit of your approach to commerce on your personal decide again. It is not price doing for those who assume that decide goes to be No. 9. You do it as a result of you’ll be able to management it, and may subsequently be certain that when the lottery arrives, you have got as many ping pong balls as humanly attainable. The Nets nonetheless have work to do. Cam Johnson must go. So does Dorian Finney-Smith. Ben Simmons will most likely maintain himself, however on the off-chance he is wholesome and something like his previous self, he is an apparent buyout candidate. However the Nets perceive the task. The objective is to lose, and when that is as clear as it’s right here, it isn’t particularly arduous to do.

Hey, talking of groups that understood the task, let’s give it up for the Wizards. This is a tanker. Tyus Jones was actually the one conventional playmaker on final 12 months’s roster. He’s now a Solar, and substitute Malcolm Brogdon will miss the start of the 12 months as a result of a torn ligament in his thumb. Deni Avdija was one of the best two-way participant on the staff. He’s now a Path Blazer. No. 2 total decide Alex Sarr has a lot work to do on offense that he shot 0 for 15 in a Summer season League sport. You may query the deserves of rebuilding this manner. It most likely makes some sense to have a bit extra veteran know-how within the constructing simply so the kids have older gamers to be taught from. However so far as shedding video games goes, the Wizards are nailing it. The Wizards completed final season on a 6-30 stretch. That is slightly below a 14-win tempo. They’re going to most likely do barely higher than that throughout 82 video games on taking pictures variance and schedule quirks alone, however the roster is worse. If the lottery did not exist I would advise Flagg to look into actual property alongside the Potomac.