Ah, tank puns. I have overlooked you. Nobody used to mean a rhyme last season. Victor Wembanyama certainly was before that, but his name isn’t simply punishable (although we must mention the Reddit commenter who coined “Wembanyamarama”). But this season? We get a very simple one. In fact, we get several. There’s the “sink for Flagg” visible in honor of Duke forward Cooper Flagg, but “drag for Flagg” and “give up white Flagg” also work (again, thanks Reddit).
This is what a race to the bottom must be like: enough of the funny puns, more evil groups live in them. There are at least four teams actively fighting to reach the Eastern Conference finals in the 2024-25 season. No one is working that dry in the West, but you won’t want to. There are some groups that will be organically evil, but the outcome of the convention will be so good that those groups will be crushed into submission, and one or two traumatic circumstances will bind them. When the mud settles, there should be a slightly identifiable caste of seven or eight teams spontaneously heading toward Duke’s elite freshman.
So naturally, let’s rank them. While there will surely be a miracle or two when the tanking ramps up in March and April, those are the eight teams best positioned to lose as they stand today.
Hi umm… What’s going on with Kawhi Leonard? He nearly returned before the playoffs and then played only two games against the Dallas Mavericks. He was chosen for Group USA and then left before the Olympics began. It’s training camp and he’s no longer working toward it. With Paul George long gone and James Harden’s scoring prowess reduced considerably from his peak, a healthy Leonard will be very important if the Clippers hope to even compete for a spot in the Play Games event. If those knee problems persist, and with Leonard they tend to do so, there are a dozen possible catastrophes. In fact, the entire league supports Leonard’s condition. The Oklahoma Town Thunder control the Clippers’ three closest first-round picks, and the best thing 29 alternate teams want to see is Flagg in a Thunder uniform. George’s business already landed Thunder Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jaylen Williams, and there’s still extra price to be extracted from it.
Brandon Miller had a promising rookie season. Charles Lee is a promising new teacher. In most cases, successful teams don’t have the “rookie” oath attached to more than one key piece, but that’s where the Hornets are. They’re inching along the right path with an intact speaker, front office, and franchise player, but these things generally tend to tear away the presence. When veterans are involved, condition is the most important factor. LaMelo Ball has played in 58 total games over the two seasons, and young rim protector Mark Williams had the best performance with 19 a year ago. Seth Curry and Taj Gibson are the only players on the roster these days with more than five years of experience. Having a different selection in the lottery never hurts. In a couple of years, the Hornets have a chance of being right.
The Jazz have played .500 late-January basketball in each of the last two seasons. From February 1 forward in those seasons, they went a combined 18-45. Danny Ainge has put together extra skills to properly tank over 82 games, but that hasn’t stopped him from beating his team at the sophomore deadlines. That’s going to be a little more difficult in this current round. He’s running out of veterans to do business with, although if there are successful deals for Collin Sexton, Walker Kessler and Jordan Clarkson, they all seem to be available. Lauri Markkanen pushes the bar too high for Utah to land in the bottom five, but as long as Utah owes Oklahoma Town its safe first-round pick (top 10 this season, top eight next season), you’ll be able to rely on Ainge to do everything in its power to reserve Utah a safe distance from the Play Games-In tournament. The fact that this year’s roster is significantly younger and rawer than the previous top two is helping the fight. Players like Keyonte George, Taylor Hendricks, Cody Williams and Isaiah Collier have a future in the NBA, but their talents free up enough to desire.
The Bulls have taken an intentional step again. Their defensive anchor (and safest biggest constant) from last season now plays for the Oklahoma Town Thunder. His offensive engine is a Sacramento King. Getting Zach LaVine back could make up for some of what was lost with DeMar DeRozan. The Bulls have no solution for Alex Caruso, and their defense is going to be calamitous as a result. Crime is more of a matter of matter. There is skill here, but compatibility is iffy. Josh Giddey would be the preserve at the creation level. How often will he have the ball with LaVine, Coby White, Nikola Vucevic and other tough touches? Is there a lot of shooting here to back up Giddey not shooting? In the long run, the skill helps keep the Bulls absolutely out of the deficit, but if a group tells you they’re rebuilding, it’s wise to consider them. The Bulls made that statement by buying and selling Caruso and DeRozan.
The defense has a path toward being, well, not just good, but at least professional. Ausar Thompson is splendid. Jalen Duren has a skilled team. Cade Cunningham must forge himself defensively as the number one ball handlers advance. However, crime is a disease. A big one, because there is simply no disagreement when shooting here. Their two top lottery picks, Thompson and Ron Holland, are, so far, absolutely non-shooters. Cunningham and Jaden Ivey have so far been a shade below par. Tobias Harris and Tim Hardaway Jr. were brought in to give the kids space, but they prefer to develop their own look rather than implement others. Hardaway shot just a season-high 35.2% on his catch-and-shoot 3-pointers. Harris used to be at 36.5%. It’s also not possible for MVP hopefuls to grow in appearance for them. There’s a chance the Pistons have the worst offense in the NBA this season, and that lack of love will force Detroit into the mix.
Portland has a lot more NBA skill than the standard bottom three group. Jerami Provide, Deandre Ayton, Deni Avdija and Anfernee Simons would all be viable starters on the right teams, not to mention draft options that would likely flourish. But keep in mind that anyone should do as much as possible within Western convention. It’s no longer Portland’s fault that there are 14 perfect teams ahead of them. Of course, Portland must have traded a veteran or two so far, but part of their mercy for not tanking more aggressively is probably that they don’t want to. The agenda will take care of that for them. The fact that his offense will be run at least partially through a second-year level reserve after a disappointing rookie campaign in Scoot Henderson only complicates matters. This season is ready to build, it is no longer profitable.
Keep in mind what we mentioned with Chicago? When a group tells you they want to go under, consider it. The Nets didn’t just get rid of their ideal player, Mikal Bridges. They joined the Rockets in trading for their own first-round pick. again within the procedure. Your individual draft picks are the only possessions in all of basketball whose value you can control. You will not get a participant to recover. You will not create a group whose election you lose. But you can definitely prepare to lose as many personal games as possible. That is the only reason why you should move from method to business in your personal choice again. It’s no longer important to do it when you think the choice will be I don’t agree. 9. You do it because you will be able to keep an eye on it and subsequently ensure that when a roulette table arrives, you will have as many ping pong balls as humanly imaginable. The Nets still have work to do. Cam Johnson must move forward. So does Dorian Finney-Smith. Ben Simmons will likely trade himself, but if he’s healthy and looks anything like his worn-out form, he’s a visible buy candidate. However the Nets perceive the project. The goal is to lose, and when that’s as clear as it is here, it’s not particularly dry anymore.
Hello, speaking of groups that understood the project, let’s leave it for the Wizards. This It’s a tanker. Tyus Jones was, in fact, the only traditional playmaker on last year’s roster. He is now a Solar, and substitute Malcolm Brogdon will stop playing at the beginning of the year due to a torn ligament in his thumb. Deni Avdija was usually the most effective two-way player in the group. It’s now a Path Blazer. Disagree. No. 2 overall pick Alex Sarr has so much work to do on offense that he shot 0 for 15 in a Summer League game. You will question the merits of rebuilding this way. It probably makes sense to have a little more veteran experience in building just so the kids have used players to learn. But as far as losing games goes, the Wizards are doing it. The Wizards completed their best season with a 6-30 streak. That’s just shy of a 14-win year. They’ll probably do much better than that in 82 games in terms of shot variance and scheduling quirks they don’t like, but the list is worse. If a roulette table didn’t exist, I would recommend Flagg look at real estate along the Potomac.
