I’m definitely not the first one to say this, but can we please put an end to the use of the term “tanking” when we really mean “rebuilding”?Yes, the 2014 draft class is loaded. Yes, any team who lands Andrew Wiggins could be set for a long time. No, that doesn’t mean every team who traded away their best players or allowed them to leave via free agency is “tanking.”
The best example of this is the Philadelphia 76ers. After setting the franchise back years by trading Andre Iguodala, Nik Vucevic, and Mo Harkless for the right to pay Andrew Bynum a lot of money, they basically had to blow everything up, and with Wiggins as a potential bonus, that makes the decision even easier. They started the blowing-up process with a bang by trading Jrue Holiday to New Orleans, kicking off cries of “the Sixers are tanking!”
Now, I’m not trying to deny the existence of tanking as a concept. I’d define it as intentionally making a team worse (for example, my beloved Baltimore Orioles once traded Chad Bradford, a good player, for “future considerations” that turned out to be less money than the minimum salary for an MLB player). That’s different from rebuilding: sacrificing short-term respectability for (hopefully) long-term success. If the Sixers were tanking, they wouldn’t have traded Holiday for two first-round picks, one of which was a potential #1 in Nerlens Noel. They’d have traded him for what all impartial observers would call way below his market price. As it is, okay, the Sixers are going to be really bad, but if Noel turns into the monster most thought he’d be, and they get a decent player with that next #1 pick, maybe they come out ahead long-term.
The other reason I hate the term “tanking” is because it’s demeaning to the players, coaches, all the staff of a team who are doing everything in their power to win games. Call them a bad team. Fine. Don’t imply that the team is intentionally trying to lose, unless it’s Mark Madsen chucking up seven threes territory. Evan Turner will go out there every night and try to win games, for his own sake at the very least. The Sixers will still be bad, but in the long term they might be good, and it’s not because guys like Turner were trying to lose.
Now let’s get to the latest news and rumors from around the NBA:
- Seth Curry had an offer from an Italian Serie A team but he decided to join Golden State Warriors veteran camp on a non-guaranteed deal. Marcus Thompson II of the Contra Costa Times expands on this: “Former Duke star Seth Curry will sign a non-guaranteed contract with Golden State on Friday. He chose the Warriors over playing in Barcelona because he figures he has a good shot of earning a roster spot in Golden State’s backcourt. And, even if he doesn’t make the roster, the younger Curry is intrigued by the Warriors’ D-League team in Santa Cruz, which has built a reputation for developing players and getting them into the league. Playing with his brother was previously thought to be a long shot. Seth Curry, who went undrafted, had talks with San Antonio, Chicago and Charlotte — places that seemed to have better opportunities available. But those talks never panned out.”
Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype interviewed Nicolas Batum, who had this to say about LaMarcus Aldridge and the future of the Blazers: “JS: There have been these rumors that [Aldridge] has privately demanded a trade from Portland… NB: I heard that too and I laughed when I read that. He doesn’t want to get traded, he wants the team to get better. LaMarcus is a winner. JS: He has told you that? NB: I mean, I know that’s what he wants. We had two bad seasons and missed the playoffs and wants the team to improve. I think he didn’t ask for a trade. He wants to stay and win with the Blazers. He just wants a better team around him so we can get back to the playoffs.”- The Sixers added a recent first-round pick while giving up essentially nothing, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer: “The team has acquired Tony Wroten from the Memphis Grizzlies Thursday for a protected second-round pick, a league source confirmed. This pick is based on where the Sixers, who are expected to struggle, finish in the standings. As a result, they basically surrendered nothing for Wroten, a 2012 first-round selection. “Just want to say thank you to ALL the Memphis Grizzlies fans, coaches, etc.,” Wroten tweeted Thursday. “I love the city of Memphis. Will always have love for you guys. GnG.” The source said this move was about acquiring Wroten’s 1.1 million salary. Including his pay, the Sixers have around $41.2 million of salary guaranteed to 10 players for the upcoming season. NBA teams must have a minium payroll of $52.811 million.”
The Celtics are also rebuilding, but Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld thinks they could still be decent this year: “Rajon Rondo, Jeff Green, Kelly Olynyk, Gerald Wallace, Avery Bradley, Jared Sullinger, MarShon Brooks, Courtney Lee and Brandon Bass. Outside of Rondo there isn’t an All-Star there, but there are some solid NBA players. There has been some speculation that Boston might ultimately trade Rondo and really cash out, but sources close to the C’s continue to say that all the calls on Rondo were incoming calls and that Boston is committed to trying to make the next generation of Celtics basketball work around Rondo. You add in a solid ready-to-play draft addition in Olynyk, a returning and motivated Sullinger and any level of improvement in Green (now that he doesn’t have to share the ball with Paul Pierce), and the Celtics could win 40 to 45 games just on that alone.”
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Dan Malone is about to begin his fourth year as a journalism student at the University of King’s College in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and spent this summer as a features intern at the Cape Cod Times. He blogs, edits and learns things on the fly for Sheridan Hoops. Follow him on Twitter.