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Which Teams Are Ready To Tank For Wembanyama?
As the NBA season stands on the horizon just a week away, there is plenty of speculation about where this season could lead. Could Golden State repeat last season’s success and pick up an eighth title? Will Lebron James surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and become the league’s leading career points scorer? (Who will be the season MVP? In among all of these is a question that doesn’t get asked every season, but has become impossible to ignore in 2022. Who’s going to go out there and just absolutely stink for 82 games in order to have the chance to draft Victor Wembanyama?
The exceptional French power forward is going to be a member of 2023’s NBA draft class, and it might be understating his value to talk about him as a “generational” talent. At 7’ 3 and blessed with athleticism that belies his height, Wembanyama could turn a drifting team into a contender in his rookie season. It’s a fair call that he would improve any NBA team that drafts him, and he could surely improve any of the teams likely to finish poorly enough this season to earn a high draft pick. So, which teams could you see taking the nuclear option and tanking in this coming season in the hopes of bringing him on board?
San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs could certainly benefit from having the chance to draft Wembanyama, although in reality with a projected win total in the low twenties, they could probably benefit from drafting anyone. Even playing as well as they can, they’ll likely be among the betting for the worst teams in the league this season. A club with their history could, however, be back among the best the moment they drafted Wembanyama. When it comes to tanking, there’s also plausible deniability on San Antonio’s part. How can you be sure they’re losing deliberately, when they lose so many even at their best?
Oklahoma City Thunder
We’ve hinted before that OKC aren’t above tanking, and again, their expected win/loss record isn’t exactly tank-unfriendly. Imagine you spent all that time half-heartedly shuffling around the court for years, only to miss out on a likely future Hall Of Famer the one year he comes along. The Thunder must be considered a contender for this season’s Tank Race. They have the advantage in that they tend not to be called out when they do it – and with talent like this guy at stake, there’s little incentive to stop it now.
Anyone who starts badly
Even a player as good as Wembanyama doesn’t represent a reason for the best to suddenly stop being the best. If Golden State suddenly went 10-72, alarm bells would ring, and any team that has valid play-off hopes should focus on bringing those to fruition. But if a team with an outside shot were to start the season in less than stellar form, then there may be temptation to ride that wave all the way to the top slots in the draft. Even if they missed out on Wembanyama, a fairly well-stocked draft class could reward cellar-dwellers above also-rans. If you miss out on the #1 pick, there’s still Scoot Henderson – and he has a point to prove..
