The Official Tank Thread - 2019 Edition

We're not deliberately tanking and I don't think Lebron would ever get behind that. The problem is we're tanking anyway not on purpose because we just stink. But mainly Lebron is not the same since coming back from injury. He can't flip the switch. Father Time is a b*&^#. Undefeated.

 

The funny thing about tank threads, and I realize I have repeated this for like 3 years now, is that we don’t have to root for the team to lose for them to lose. They lose because they suck, my rooting one way or the other has zero effect on that. I’ll always remain on rooting for wins and if we lose, we lose, but the rooting for wins doesn’t make us win any more than rooting for losses makes us lose. But, I doubt I’ll be watching many of these final 20 games or so of the season anyway, so I won’t really be rooting for anything. That 13th pick or so isn’t going to be anything special when we miss the playoffs, but hell I guess Magic could use it to get screwed over yet again in another trade.

 

The thing is playoff experience is more valuable for the young guys than the late lottery pick, who usually will be a scrub anyway.

Ya, we might LUCK into someone like Donovan Mitchell but that is very unrealistic to expect.

I would have much rather made the playoffs and lost there than to just lose. The Lakers have simply become a losing franchise with a losing culture, where it is perfectly ok to lose. It didn't use to be like that.

But players don't show the same pride that guys like Fisher, Fox, Horry etc. brought or even Ariza, Gasol, Odom etc...

We have become OK with losing. Ownership with the new FO tried to sell us a new culture of excellence by putting more pressure on the guys and giving them LeBron who is extra pressure to any team. But it hasn't worked out because as they say in Germany...

a fish rots from the head down.

 

Spot on IMO. Tanking also only works if you do it ALL the way, you do it for a long time, and you have luck as well. The Cavs tanked and only got arguably 2 of their 3 1st overall picks right, Irving being one, and Wiggins allowing them to trade for Love being 2. But even with Kyrie before LeBron cand back they were garbage. Philly tanked to depths never seen before, and it took getting Simmons, waiting 3 years for Embiid to see the court, and trading for Butler to be contenders again, and they TOO messed up a 1st overall and a 2nd overall with Fultz and Okafor (and even going back to Evan Turner at 2 in 2010 if you want to really analyze how long their rebuild has been).

The Suns have tanked the same amount of years we did too, and where are they even after Booker, Ayton and some other nice picks? One of the worst teams in the league still. Same for the Knicks, same for Minny with all their young talent. The Kings have only recently pulled out of like a decade plus funk this season and even they aren’t guaranteed a playoff spot. It’s much smarter to try and remain a quality franchise that doesn’t tolerate losing or openly try to make it happen than to sell your soul for high picks. You might never get that #1 pick you need in the end, a star might end up going 12th like to Utah. If you instead remain competetive, good players seem to be more open to come join your team. We never tanked in the 90’s, we missed the playoffs one time, and that still competetive and promising young team landed us Shaq. We’ve played this wrong for years now sadly, and I don’t know when or if this franchise will recover to previous levels with its current management and ownership.

 

Building a franchise and a culture is ONLY achieved by years of consistently solid basketball decisions and the right players and people treatment.

The Lakers for the past 10 years have always been on some sort of a 3 year plan with radical changes, salary cap and revolutionary FA signings. But greatness isn't achieved through revolution, its achieved through consistent evolution. We have been a gargantuan failure honestly. Only Laker fans might be too blind to realize. We are part of the laughing stock in the NBA for years now.

You look at the Spurs...they are always there, no matter who plays there. All of their great players have retired already and they are still a playoff team.

The Lakers...the 2008 plan (failed because Kobe requested trade)...the 2010 plan (more or less we lucked into Gasol)...the 2014 plan (failed with Dwightmare and Nash)...the "I will retire if we don't contend" by Buss (massiv fail)...the "I will retire if we don't compete in 3 years" by Magic...1 off-season remaining for this fail to become reality.

Organizational greatness isn't achieved by scratching plans and starting new 3 year plans all the time. It doesn't matter if you think you can do it. History has proven you can't and it takes organizational greatness to achieve sustainable greatness. Its all about sustainability which can only be achieved by consistency. We don't f*** get this for whatever reason. Buss needs to look in the mirror and understand she is better off selling. Jerry was a genius, his kids are utter failures as decision makers for the Lakers. Didn't they learn anything from Jerry & Jerry? If you don't learn with all-time great geniuses around you, you probably are not talented at this.

Just to see that we are desperate for an all-star and Russell IS now an all-star shows you what it means to have patience. Its not like we are winning in the meantime. This isn't about Russell...it is about PATIENCE. The journey of a 1000 miles begins with a very simple step.

Pelinka talked extensively when taking over how he wants to have great relationship with players and agents and GMs...what happened? everybody he has dealt with hates him with a passion. Nobody wants to deal with the Lakers, no player wants to come unless we overpay (Rondo, Beasley, Stevenson) and those on the team probably want out themselves...It has been a massive fail.