A deeper look at tanking (Part 2)

Hey, don't give me that look, Alec. You should be celebrating! A 1-14 record is rather impressive — and exactly what the Jazz want to be doing. The best route to improving this franchise is through losing a lot of games, aka, tanking. In the first part of this post, I took a look at all the teams that made the conference finals from 1984 to 1998, and I found that almost half of those teams acquired their best player through nothing more than losing a bunch of games. Let's see how the past 15 years look.

1998-99:

*Spurs: Tim Duncan (Finals MVP) — 1st pick in 1997 (20-62)
Knicks: Latrell Sprewell — trade with Golden State in 1999
Blazers: Isaiah Rider — trade with Minnesota in 1996
Pacers: Reggie Miller — 11th pick in 1987 (41-41)

The '98-99 season sucked. The lockout limited it to just 50 games, and I firmly believe had this been a normal season, the Jazz would have finally won a championship. But that's just wishful thinking. Instead, the Spurs got their first title behind the stellar play of Tim Duncan, who helps prove the tanking theory. Now, David Robinson sat out most of the '96-97 season with injury, but I don't think the Spurs were ignorant about the possibility of drafting Duncan. I think they were quite content to allow Robinson to heal completely and thoroughly, while they limped to a 20-win season. And then just two years later, that top draft pick led them to the ultimate prize. But the other three teams in the conference finals this season did not use the tanking strategy. Patrick Ewing was still on this Knicks roster, but he was injured throughout much of New York's improbable run through the playoffs. Instead, they were led by Latrell Sprewell, who they acquired in one of the most successful mid-season trades in NBA history. For the Blazers, I had a hard time choosing their best player. They were a really well-balanced team, and I seem to remember Brian Grant hurting the Jazz more than anyone else. Rasheed Wallace was also there, but he hadn't quite developed into his All-Star potential. So I stuck with their leading scorer, the turbulent J.R. Rider. But none of those players were drafted by Portland, so there was no tanking there. And as I said in my last post, the Pacers were a playoff team the year before they drafted Reggie, so I don't count them as a tanking team, either.

1999-00:

Lakers: Shaquille O'Neal (MVP & Finals MVP) — free agent in 1996
Pacers: Reggie Miller
Blazers: Rasheed Wallace — trade with Washington in 1996
Knicks: Latrell Sprewell

This was the year that Shaq finally started living up to his full potential. And even though he was a No. 1 overall pick, he ditched his original team (Orlando) to chase the glitz and glamor of Hollywood. After his acting and rapping career failed to take off, he started to focus more on basketball thanks to the arrival of Phil Jackson and the emergence of Kobe Bryant. I don't think it should surprise anyone that the Lakers never were a tanking team on my list. What is surprising is that for the first time since 1984, not a single conference final team was led by a tanking success. Rasheed Wallace was a lottery pick — for the Washington Bullets. So all these teams got here more or less through intelligent front office moves. Maybe the lottery system is doing its job at preventing tanking.

2000-01:

Lakers: Shaquille O'Neal (Finals MVP)
*76ers: Allen Iverson (MVP) — 1st pick in 1996 (18-64)
*Spurs: Tim Duncan
Bucks: Ray Allen — 5th pick in 1996 (traded by Minnesota)

Well, so much for the lottery putting an end to tanking. Philadelphia got a great score after an awful 18-win season. And in the 2001 playoffs, Allen Iverson (almost single-handidly) gave the Lakers their only loss. And Milwaukee is not considered a tanking team by a mere technicality. They acquired Ray Allen through a draft-day trade, but they definitely tanked to get in position to make that trade. However, I credit their GM for dumping off Stephon Marbury for the superior Allen. Which one of those guys is still in the league?

2001-02:

Lakers: Shaquille O'Neal (Finals MVP)
Nets: Jason Kidd — trade with Phoenix in 2001
Kings: Chris Webber — trade with Washington in 1998
*Celtics: Paul Pierce — 10th pick in 1998 (36-46)

Jason Kidd and Chris Webber were both high lottery picks in their day, but they both didn't reach this level of success until they were traded to their third team. We are definitely seeing less tanking teams, but they are still out there. A 36-win season doesn't feel like a "true" tanking season, where everybody completely gives up. But the Celtics were bad enough to get a lottery pick who eventually took them to the conference finals, so they fit under my definition.

2002-03:

*Spurs: Tim Duncan (MVP & Finals MVP)
Nets: Jason Kidd
Mavericks: Dirk Nowitzki — 9th pick in 1998 (traded from Milwaukee)
Pistons: Ben Wallace — trade with Orlando in 2000

Dirk Nowitzki was a draft-day trade for a terrible Dallas team, but I give them credit for taking a chance on the unproven German player instead of sticking with the "sure thing" of Robert "Tractor" Traylor. For the Pistons, I could have chosen their leading scorer, Rip Hamilton, or their point guard, Chauncy Billups. But neither one of them seemed to really take over the team at this point. Ben Wallace, however, was Defensive Player of the Year and at the peak of his abilities with 15 rebounds and 3 blocks a game. The undrafted, undersized center was merely a throw-in for the Grant Hill sign-and-trade. And neither Hamilton nor Billups were drafted by the Pistons, so they built this team entirely without tanking.

2003-04:

Pistons: Chauncy Billups (Finals MVP) — free agent in 2002
Lakers: Shaquille O'Neal
Pacers: Jermaine O'Neal — trade with Portland in 2000
*Timberwolves: Kevin Garnett (MVP) — 5th pick in 1995 (21-61)

Chauncy Billups was originally drafted by Boston, then bounced around to three other teams before he finally found a home in Detroit. He also got pretty lucky to go against a Lakers team caught in a massive Shaq-Kobe feud and an injured Karl Malone unable to help. Reggie Miller was still on the Pacers, but had aged past the point of being their top player. In typical Indiana fashion, the Pacers found their new leader through a smart trade — not tanking. However, the Timberwolves completely tanked to get Kevin Garnett. Yes, he was a bit of a risk coming straight out of high school, but when you're a 21-win team, you can't really get much worse.

2004-05:

*Spurs: Tim Duncan (Finals MVP)
Pistons: Chauncy Billups
Suns: Steve Nash (MVP) — free agent in 2004
*Heat: Dwyane Wade — 5th pick in 2003 (25-57)

Steve Nash was actually drafted by the Suns with the 15th pick in the 1996 draft. But that was a non-tanking situation, and besides, he was traded to Dallas after just a couple of years. Nash then became an All-Star, but then Mark Cuban suddenly got cheap on him, so he rejoined his former team, where he became even better. In Miami, the arrival of Shaquille O'Neal was a really big deal, but this team was led by Dwyane Wade, who was one of the many prizes of the 2003 lottery, which Miami was more than willing to be a part of.

2005-06:

*Heat: Dwyane Wade (Finals MVP)
Mavericks: Dirk Nowitzki
Pistons: Chauncy Billups
Suns: Steve Nash (MVP)

Dwyane Wade put up a dominant Finals performance with 34.7 ppg, 7.8 rpg and 3.8 apg. I watched that series right before I left on my mission, and I thought for sure that Wade was the next Jordan, and the Mavericks were his first victims. But then he got hurt and everything changed.

2006-07:

Spurs: Tony Parker (Finals MVP) — 28th pick in 2001 (58-24)
*Cavaliers: LeBron James — 1st pick in 2003 (17-65)
Pistons: Chauncy Billups
Jazz: Carlos Boozer — free agent in 2004

I still consider the Spurs to be Tim Duncan's team, and I think Tony Parker won this award mainly because of voter fatigue. However, his 24.5/5.0/3.3 was pretty nice — especially for the 28th pick in the draft. He also represents exactly how San Antonio has remained competitive all these years. After landing Duncan, they smartly built a good team around him by drafting intelligently and developing players, so they didn't need to tank again. The Cavs, however, tanked big time to get LeBron. They had the worst record in the league, and their coach at the time, John Lucas, later admitted that Cleveland was tanking. (Funnily, enough, this caused a bit of faux-outrage from Cleveland's owner. Why deny it? Embrace it!) The Jazz, sadly, decided to have another good season while I was in the Czech Republic. This team was anchored by Carlos Boozer, Memo Okur (both free agents) and Deron Williams. The Jazz did a pseudo-tank to get Williams by having a 26-win season then trading up to get him. That's the closest they've come to tanking. Will they be able to do it this year?

2007-08:

*Celtics: Paul Pierce (Finals MVP)
Lakers: Kobe Bryant (MVP) — 13th pick in 1996 (traded by Charlotte)
Pistons: Chauncy Billups
*Spurs: Tim Duncan

Of course, Paul Pierce wasn't the main reason for Boston's championship here. They made two very successful trades for a couple of guys named Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. However, Pierce was still the leader, and he was technically acquired through a tanking situation. Kobe Bryant finally got to take the Lakers to the Finals (although Pau Gasol helped a lot), but the Lakers didn't get him through tanking — or being particularly smart, either. There's a lot of debate on whether Kobe demanded a trade to L.A. or whether Charlotte was just desperate to get Vlade Divac. Knowing what I know about Kobe, I'm inclined to believe he refused, or would have refused, to play for Charlotte. But whatever you choose to believe, you can't deny that this was a non-tanking situation.

2008-09:

Lakers: Kobe Bryant (Finals MVP)
*Magic: Dwight Howard — 1st pick in 2004 (21-61)
*Cavaliers: LeBron James (MVP)
*Nuggets: Carmelo Anthony — 3rd pick in 2003 (17-65)

Now here are the tanking success stories! Orlando finished with the worst record in the league, landed the top pick, and took only a slight risk with high schooler Dwight Howard. In four years, he had them in the Finals — almost all you could ever hope for. Denver, if you remember, tied with Cleveland for the worst record, and chose Carmelo Anthony with their pick. True, they might have had more success with Dwyane Wade, but reaching the conference finals with Carmelo was a solid accomplishment. But the most important thing from this season is that three of these four teams didn't just tank — they completely bottomed out. And general managers took notice, and continue to try to replicate that success today. (And then they act outraged and vehemently deny all accusations that they would ever attempt to think about doing something as dastardly as tank a season.)

2009-10:

Lakers: Kobe Bryant (Finals MVP)
*Celtics: Paul Pierce
*Magic: Dwight Howard
Suns: Steve Nash

Not much to say for this season. The same handful of teams just keep rotating in and out. Probably the most important development we learned was that Cleveland did not successfully build a winning team around LeBron James. He realized it was too hard for him to win on his on, began to pout, then ditched Cleveland as soon as he could. Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard would later follow suit. What's interesting is that this very rarely happened in the '80s or '90s. Teams landed a supreme talent, then kept them and built around them. In the 2000s, teams continued to land the supreme talents through the same tactics (primarily losing), but they became less adept at keeping these players for the long term. Perhaps it has to do with the stricter salary cap.

2010-11:

Mavericks: Dirk Nowitzki (Finals MVP)
Heat: LeBron James — sign-and-trade with Cleveland in 2010
*Bulls: Derrick Rose (MVP) — 1st pick in 2008 (33-49)
*Thunder: Kevin Durant — 2nd pick in 2007 (31-51)

The Bulls and Thunder are both teams that spent a long time tanking, especially Chicago, who started the drill as soon as Jordan left. They suffered through many years in the lottery before they finally got lucky with Derrick Rose. The Thunder (formerly the Sonics) built their team with high draft picks in Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and most importantly, Kevin Durant. The salary cap forced Oklahoma City to break up that trio prematurely, but the takeaway lesson here is that tanking is rarely a one-season event. Sometimes it can take years of strikeouts before you hit it big (like Chicago), or sometimes you need to slowly build up an accumulation of top-tier talent (like OKC). Either way, Jazz fans should prepare themselves for this tanking session to last a while.

2011-12:

Heat: LeBron James (MVP & Finals MVP)
*Thunder: Kevin Durant
*Spurs: Tim Duncan
*Celtics: Paul Pierce

Again, not much to say here. This happened so recently that we all know what happened. We had the old guard (Spurs and Celtics) slowly being replaced by the new guard (Heat and Thunder). But even though LeBron was clearly the best player on Miami this year, the main reason he went there was because they already had Dwyane Wade, who was acquired through tanking. Just like how San Antonio and Boston wouldn't have been as competitive had they not had at least one truly awful season in their recent past.

2012-13:

Heat: LeBron James (MVP & Finals MVP)
*Spurs: Tim Duncan
Grizzlies: Zach Randolf — trade with Los Angeles Clippers in 2009
*Pacers: Paul George — 10th pick in 2010 (32-50)

Now we got a couple of newcomers here. I could have chosen Marc Gasol for Memphis — he was the Defensive Player of the Year — but I stuck with Randolf, their leading scorer and rebounder through the playoffs. But like Randolf, Gasol was traded to Memphis (as a throw-in with the Pau Gasol trade). Memphis' starting point guard, however, Mike Conley Jr., was acquired in the draft after the Grizzlies finished with the worst record in the NBA. So there was a fair amount of tanking on this team. Paul George was one of Indiana's spoils from destroying their team after the Malice at the Palace. It used to not bug me that the Jazz drafted Gordon Hayward one pick ahead of George, but lately that's really starting to annoy me. In a couple of years, that may become one of the worst draft picks made by Utah.

So, let's start tallying everything up. In the past 15 years, 24 of the 60 conference finals teams were led by a tanking success story. That's a 40 percent rate, which is slightly lower than the previous 15-year chunk. Altogether, over the past 30 years, 51 of the 120 teams (42.5 percent) were built by tanking. Looking at just the Finals MVPs, only five of the past 15 were acquired through tanking, whereas the previous 15-year chunk had 11 of 15. So it's getting harder to win by tanking, which is exactly what the NBA wants. But tanking still is perhaps the best way to improve for all teams not named the Los Angeles Lakers. Here's a look at all the teams that made my list:

Lakers: 15 appearances, 0 tanks
Pistons: 11 appearances, 3 tanks
Bulls: 9, 9
Celtics: 9, 9
Spurs: 9, 8
Pacers: 7, 1
Suns: 7, 1
Heat: 6, 2
Jazz: 6, 0
Blazers: 5, 0
Sonics/Thunder: 5, 2
Knicks: 4, 2
Magic: 4, 4
Mavericks: 4, 1
Rockets: 4, 4
Bucks: 3, 0
Cavaliers: 3, 2
76ers: 2, 1
Nets: 2, 0
Nuggets: 2, 1
Grizzlies: 1, 0
Kings: 1, 0
Timberwolves: 1, 1

So this chart means that over the past 30 years, the Lakers have reached at least the conference finals 15 times. They had three distinct dynasties, led by Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. But none of those players were acquired by the Lakers' own lottery pick, i.e., a tanking situation. The Bulls made nine appearances, and each time were led by one of their tanking spoils (Michael Jordan and Derrick Rose). What I find most interesting with this list is the second-highest team with a zero in the tanking column: the Utah Jazz. They have never successfully tanked before. Every other team that's made it more than five times had at least one team led by a lottery pick. Except the Lakers, who can get away with that thanks to their ability to land marquee free agents. But the Jazz will never have that luxury.

Now tanking isn't the only solution. The Detroit Pistons enjoyed an enormous amount of success through a team led by Chauncy Billups and other players acquired through trade or free agency. And that's pretty much how the Jazz did things during Jerry Sloan's tenure. They always made the playoffs, and reached the Finals twice. But that was when the Jazz had a magnificent, hands-on owner and a Hall-of-Fame coach. Greg Miller isn't quite Larry H. Miller, and Tyrone Corbin is nowhere near Jerry Sloan. Without that front office stability and leadership, the Jazz will never be able to return to competitive form "the old-fashioned way." Their only hope is to completely bottom out and draft a guy who can single-handedly turn this team around.

So Jazz fans, sit back and enjoy the tanking. Laugh at their struggles and take pleasure in the coaches and players trying to find new ways to say, "We're not intentionally losing." And Jazz? Why not actually come out and say this season is a wash and that you're actually tanking? What's going to happen? Will the NBA fine you? Will the national media feign shock and wag their tongues at you? I doubt it. Be honest with yourself and the fans. We deserve it.

A deeper look at tanking (Part 1)

Tyrone Corbin knows what's up. So does Gordon Hayward, who recently shot 1-for-17 against New Orleans (I was hoping he'd break Chris Bosh's 1-for-18 record, alas!). GM Dennis Lindsey knew it, too, when he traded for Richard Jefferson (10.5 ppg on .371 FG%), Brandon Rush (1 game, 0 points) and Andris Biedrins (has not played a game yet, and will earn a $9 million salary this year). Corbin, Hayward, Lindsey and probably everybody else on the Jazz know that this season is a wash. Might as well throw your hands up in the air and trust in the tanking system. Corbin's hoping he can somehow prove he deserves to keep his job, Hayward's hoping he can play his way into a bigger contract next season, Jefferson's hoping he can show a contender he can still contribute, and Lindsey's hoping the Jazz lose enough games to get a great draft pick. It's Utah's best chance at rebuilding. The tried and true tactic of tanking.

In my last tanking post, I focused only on the teams that completely bottomed out. But tanking doesn't require a 12-win season. You just have to be bad enough to get a good draft pick. So today, I am looking at all the teams in the past 30 years that made the conference finals to determine whether their best player was acquired through tanking — or, in other words, all they had to do to get that player was lose enough games to get a high enough draft pick. If they traded for that pick or player, or signed him as a free agent, then I attribute that acquisition to good front office moves — not to the team's ineptitude. And I'm choosing the conference finalists because I think it's sometimes unrealistic to expect a championship. But a conference finals appearance makes a team a contender in my book. It usually means you had a solid, 50-win season and played in a dozen or so playoff games. And for many teams, that's about all they could ever hope for. So here's the first half of my list. I used an asterisk to mark the teams that tanked (or at least lost a bunch of games) to get their top player.

1983-84:

*Celtics: Larry Bird (MVP & Finals MVP) — 6th pick in 1978 after a 32-50 season
Lakers: Magic Johnson — 1st pick in 1979 (traded from New Orleans)
Bucks: Sidney Moncrief — 5th pick in 1979 (traded from Detroit)
*Suns: Walter Davis — 5th pick in 1977 (34-48)

Bird was the word in 1984. Too cheesy? Anyway, Larry Legend won the regular season MVP with 24.2 ppg, 10.1 rpg and 6.6 apg. In the Finals, he led Boston past the Lakers in seven games with 27.4/14.0/3.6. Although a 32-win season isn't exactly horrible, it was still bad enough to miss the playoffs and draft a great player, so I say the Celtics technically tanked to get Bird. Same with the Suns, even though Walter Davis was nowhere near the caliber of Larry Bird. He did lead the Suns with 20 ppg in the regular season and nearly 25 in the playoffs, as he helped Phoenix upset the Jazz in the second round. The Lakers lucked into Magic Johnson thanks to the willingness of the New Orleans Jazz to sacrifice their future for Gail Goodrich, and Sidney Moncrief was acquired in a draft-day trade, preventing him from earning a "tank" status.

1984-85:

Lakers: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Finals MVP) — sign-and-trade with Milwaukee in 1975
*Celtics: Larry Bird (MVP)
76ers: Moses Malone — free agent in 1982
Nuggets: Alex English — trade with Indiana in 1980

By this point, I already consider the Lakers to be Magic's team, but Kareem did put up one heck of a Finals that year with 25.7/9.0/5.2. Of course, the Lakers got him simply because they were based in L.A. and they were the Lakers and Kareem wanted to play there. Moses Malone signed with Philadelphia so he could win a championship with Dr. J, which he did in 1983. The 76ers had just drafted Charles Barkley in 1984, but Malone was still their leading scorer and rebounder. Alex English had already proven himself as a valuable player before he was traded for George McGinnis.

1985-86:

*Celtics: Larry Bird (MVP & Finals MVP)
*Rockets: Hakeem Olajuwon — 1st pick in 1984 (29-53)
Lakers: Magic Johnson
Bucks Sidney Moncrief

Hakeem the Dream is one of the most successful tanking stories in NBA history. After finishing with the second-worst record, the Rockets won the coin toss, and followed Olajuwon to the Finals just two years later. Of course, their win over the Lakers was somewhat miraculous, and the Celtics did subsequently crush them, but it was still a great season for Houston.

1986-87:

Lakers: Magic Johnson (MVP & Finals MVP)
*Celtics: Larry Bird
*Pistons: Isiah Thomas — 2nd pick in 1981 (21-61)
Sonics: Dale Ellis — trade with Dallas in 1986

Isiah Thomas is another great tanking story. Going from 61 losses to 52 wins in five seasons is pretty impressive. I had a hard time choosing the best player for this 39-43 Sonics team. They might be the only team with a losing record to reach the conference finals. Dale Ellis, Tom Chambers and Xavier McDaniel each averaged at least 23 ppg in the regular season. I went with Ellis because he had the highest average of the three, especially during the playoffs. For what it's worth, though, Chambers was originally drafted by the San Diego Clippers, but McDaniel was drafted by the Sonics with the 4th pick in 1985 after a 31-51 season. So I guess you could call that a tanking success if you want — or a third of a success.

1987-88:

Lakers: James Worthy (Finals MVP) — 1st pick in 1982 (traded from Cleveland)
*Pistons: Isiah Thomas
*Celtics: Larry Bird
*Mavericks: Mark Aguirre — 1st pick in 1981 (15-67)

James Worthy primarily won the Finals MVP because he had a triple-double in the deciding game. But his 22.0/7.4/4.4 otherwise was still pretty impressive. (I would have chosen Magic, but that's beside the point.) Of course, the Lakers didn't draft Worthy because they were really bad one year, they just made a really good trade. The Mavericks, on the other hand, were the worst team in 1980-81, which got them the top pick and Mark Aguirre. Interestingly, after this season, Dallas traded him to Detroit, where he'd immediately win a couple of titles, while it took more than a decade for Dallas to return to the conference finals.

1988-89:

Pistons: Joe Dumars (Finals MVP) — 18th pick in 1985 (46-36)
Lakers: Magic Johnson (MVP)
Suns: Kevin Johnson — trade with Cleveland in 1988
*Bulls: Michael Jordan — 3rd pick in 1984 (27-55)

I still consider this Pistons team to be Isiah Thomas', but Joe Dumars really lit it up in the Finals with 27.3 ppg and 6.0 apg. And even though Detroit did draft him, there was no tanking involved. The Pistons were a fairly decent playoff team, and they smartly drafted somebody who worked perfectly with Isiah. For this Suns team, I could have easily chosen Tom Chambers, who led them in scoring and rebounding, but I was more impressed with Kevin Johnson's 23.8 ppg and 12.3 apg in the playoffs. And it seems more people today talk about Johnson than Chambers. Regardless, neither one of them was drafted by Phoenix. Michael Jordan, however, is a wonderful tanking story. The Bulls were downright miserable, and as their reward, they got to draft the greatest player of all time. To tank successfully, you don't necessarily have to be the worst team or get the No. 1 pick, you just have to be in the right place at the right time.

1989-90:

*Pistons: Isiah Thomas (Finals MVP)
Blazers: Clyde Drexler — 14th pick in 1983 (traded from Denver)
*Bulls: Michael Jordan
Suns: Kevin Johnson

Clyde Drexler has two knocks against him for being a tank success — he wasn't a very high draft pick, and that pick originally belonged to another team. He just happened to develop into the best player on a Portland team that was shrewdly put together without tanking or luring big free agents with glitz and glamor.

1990-91:

*Bulls: Michael Jordan (MVP & Finals MVP)
Lakers: Magic Johnson
Blazers: Clyde Drexler
Pistons: Joe Dumars

I put Joe Dumars here because Isiah Thomas missed almost half the season with injuries. But even a healthy Isiah probably wouldn't have been able to stop this Michael Jordan with 31.5/6.0/5.5 in the regular season and 31.2/6.6/11.4 in the Finals.

1991-92:

*Bulls: Michael Jordan (MVP & Finals MVP)
Blazers: Clyde Drexler
Cavaliers: Brad Daugherty — 1st pick in 1986 (traded from Los Angeles Clippers)
Jazz: Karl Malone — 13th pick in 1985 (41-41)

Yay! The Jazz finally made the list! Unfortunately, the Blazers prevented the Jazz from losing to Michael Jordan prematurely. Now, in the age-long debate of Stockton vs. Malone, I always have to go with Malone. At least in the games I watched, he was always the driving force behind Utah's success. But even if I did choose Stockton, I wouldn't say the Jazz tanked to get him. Utah made the second round of the playoffs each season before it drafted Stockton and Malone. They were just smart and lucky in the draft to get two guys who worked their butts off and perfectly complimented each other. As for Cleveland, it was lucky enough to happen to own the Clippers' top pick when it turned out to be No. 1.

1992-93:

*Bulls: Michael Jordan (Finals MVP)
Suns: Charles Barkley (MVP) — trade with Philadelphia in 1992
*Knicks: Patrick Ewing — 1st pick in 1985 (24-58)
Sonics: Shawn Kemp — 17th pick in 1989 (traded from Philadelphia)

So Philadelphia inadvertently set up two good teams this year. Barkley, who just got sick of the Sixers, demanded the trade, and immediately enjoyed the greatest season of his career with 25.6/12.2/5.1. Jordan, though, had the last laugh with 41.0/8.5/6.3 in the Finals. Patrick Ewing was the first-ever grand prize from the lottery, and although it took a while, he did eventually turn the Knicks into contenders. I always think of Shawn Kemp first when I think about these '90s Sonics teams, but Ricky Pierce was the leading scorer this year, and Gary Payton was beginning to emerge. Pierce was originally drafted by the Pistons back in 1982, but Payton is an interesting case. He was drafted by the Sonics with the 2nd pick in 1990, but that was after Seattle went 41-41. They just happened to miss the playoffs that year and got really lucky in the lottery. So I wouldn't consider that a tanking situation even if I did think Payton was better than Kemp in 1993.

1993-94:

*Rockets: Hakeem Olajuwon (MVP & Finals MVP)
*Knicks: Patrick Ewing
Jazz: Karl Malone
Pacers: Reggie Miller — 11th pick in 1987 (41-41)

With Michael Jordan out of the picture, the Rockets were able to return to prominence (crushing the Jazz along the way). Reggie Miller was drafted by the Pacers, but they were a playoff team in 1986-87.  Like the Blazers, they were able to build a contending team without tanking or fancy free agents.

1994-95:

*Rockets: Hakeem Olajuwon (Finals MVP)
*Magic: Shaquille O'Neal — 1st pick in 1992 (21-61)
*Spurs: David Robinson (MVP) — 1st pick in 1987 (28-54)
Pacers: Reggie Miller

If only the Knicks beat the Pacers this year. Then we'd have a clean sweep of tanking teams that got a great center with the No. 1 pick. Shaq and Robinson were everything tanking teams dream about. Shaq did leave Orlando as soon as he could, but he took them to great heights while he was there. Robinson's best season wasn't enough to top Hakeem, but he remained loyal to the franchise and helped them eventually win a couple of titles.

1995-96:

*Bulls: Michael Jordan (MVP & Finals MVP)
Sonics: Shawn Kemp
*Magic: Shaquille O'Neal
Jazz: Karl Malone

Then Michael Jordan came back and crushed everyone's dreams. With the Sonics, I strongly considered Gary Payton, but I don't think they truly became his team until Shawn Kemp left. Either way, Seattle didn't get to the Finals by tanking.

1996-97:

*Bulls: Michael Jordan (Finals MVP)
Jazz: Karl Malone (MVP)
Heat: Alonzo Mourning — trade with Charlotte in 1995
*Rockets: Hakeem Olajuwon

Now we enter the sad, dark years for Jazz fans. They're also the glory years, but very sad, as well. Anyway, Alonzo Mourning is the new guy on the list, and I also considered his point guard, Tim Hardaway. But neither of them were drafted by Miami, so there was no tanking involved. This was also the year that Charles Barkley joined Houston, but it was still Hakeem's team.

1997-98:

*Bulls: Michael Jordan (MVP & Finals MVP)
Jazz: Karl Malone
Lakers: Shaquille O'Neal — free agent in 1996
Pacers: Reggie Miller

We were just so happy to make the Finals the first time. But the second time … it seemed like it was our time … Oh well. Just getting this far without tanking or glamorous free agents is impressive. The Lakers, however, took full advantage of the glitz and glamor, as one of the most dominating centers of all time wanted to start a movie career (see: Kazaam and Steel).

So that is actually a perfect place to stop. We went through 15 seasons and completed the Michael Jordan dynasty. Of those 60 teams, I can say with reasonable confidence that 27 of them were built around a key player acquired through tanking. So that means that about 45 percent of all contenders had at least one really crappy season just a few years before reaching the conference finals. But if we just look at the championship winners, then 11 of those 15 Finals MVPS were tanking success stories.

I recently read a rather short and stupid blog post on Slate about the "Tanking Myth." The author considered Tim Duncan to be only tanking success story, since he helped the Spurs win the title while he was still in his rookie contract. Then he immediately discounted it because of David Robinson's injury. But I think it's entirely unrealistic to expect to win a championship within the first three years of a top pick's career. And even if it did take Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon a few years to win titles, how else can you explain how they joined their teams but by tanking? The Celtics, Bulls and Rockets each had a really crappy year, which gave them a very good draft pick. The teams then handled their picks smartly, and built around them, making sure to give their starts the most money to keep them there. The way I see it, that is exactly what tanking is all about, and exactly why so many teams continue to tank to this day.

Coming soon: Part 2, wherein I examine the conference finals teams from the past 15 seasons.

Doctor Strange

In 2007, after the disastrous Invincible Iron Man, Marvel decided to take its animated movies in a completely different direction — choosing something that would have an extremely hard time becoming a live action movie. Doctor Strange was directed by Patrick Archibald, Jay Oliva and Richard Sebast, and stars Bryce Johnson as Dr. Strange, Paul Nakauchi as his trainer, Wong, Michael Yama as the Ancient One, and Kevin Michael Richardson as the traitorous Mordo. Richardson is a personal favorite of mine — he's also voiced Trigon on Teen Titans and Panthro on Thundercats.

Now, I do have to preface this review by saying I've never read a single Doctor Strange comic, nor have I seen much of him in any forms of media. I've always known he was the Sorcerer Supreme, and that was about it. I think my limited knowledge of the character helped me enjoy this movie, because I wasn't held back by any ideas of what was supposed to be or how good things could have been. I took everything presented here at face value, and I kind of liked it.

I'll start with the fun opening that tells us exactly what's in store for us. We get a bunch of sorcerers fighting a demon, and everything's pretty neat. The action is good, the variety of powers is nice, and the demon itself was kind of cool looking. I even buy the main premise of magical beings fighting demons unseen in the streets of the "real" world. I'm not normally a big fan of magic, but in this case, I accept it. Actually, I think all my problems with magic arise when it gets meshed with other worlds. I absolutely hate it when Iron Man has to deal with magic, but this movie makes no mention of any other superheroes, so it's all good for me.

This movie had a lot of the same people working on it who worked on Invincible Iron Man. Luckily, it seems they more or less learned their lessons from that fiasco of a film. One of my complaints there was that Tony Stark's injury to his heart was brushed off like it was nothing. But in this movie, Dr. Strange's injury to his hands was an essential part of his character and the story. I also liked the how the accident happened — with creepy ghost kids. This movie did include a nice mix of horror. But even more importantly, we got to see Strange deal with his injury. We saw him travel the world and exhaust all his resources in search of a remedy. It was only after he had done all he could, spent his last dime, when he was ready to enter the world of magic. And that's the way it's supposed to be.

Another problem with the Iron Man movie is that we never saw Tony Stark become a hero. He was just always naturally heroic, then they tried to make him a playboy by showing him in a *gasp* hot tub with a girl! Scandalous! Anyway, Doctor Strange made sure to actually give us a character arc. Dr. Strange truly did start out as a jerk, and we followed his journey toward becoming a hero. We also got a nice backstory with his little sister to show us how he became a jerk. Having your little sister die while you operated on her would mess up anybody. And I give credit to this movie for not making Strange instantly flip a switch when he decided to join the monastery. He still had more training to do, which usually involved him tearing down a wall that was a physical manifestation of the metaphorical wall of emotion and self-doubt in his head. If they ever do make a live action Doctor Strange movie, I hope they remember this essential element.

Now, the entire ending with Dormammu using the nightmares of children to return(?) makes absolutely no sense. However, I was surprisingly fine with it. Part of it was because I was in a more accepting mood through this whole movie. These are sorcerers who fight demons. What more do I need to know? Another reason I accepted this ending was because the action was pretty cool — especially the flying piranha-like demons that instantly devoured the flesh off people. So that's another big lesson for the live action movie people: If you focus on character development and keep the action cool, then people won't worry about the demon's plots making sense.

I enjoyed this movie. I never wanted a sequel to it, or a spinoff TV series, nor has this movie inspired me to read a Doctor Strange comic. And I'm completely indifferent about a live action movie. I'd see it if they made it, but I wouldn't be upset if they didn't make it. And that's because this movie gave me all the Doctor Strange I ever wanted and probably ever needed. Sure, he's been a part of the Marvel universe for a long time, but I think he's best left alone in his own corner, only to be occasionally visited.

Final score: 8

Is tanking really worth it?

I'm a lifelong Jazz fan. So why was I so sad when they won their first game of the season? As odd as it seems, I actually enjoyed watching my team lose this year. I laughed when a Gordon Hayward pass went through Enes Kanter's legs. I cheered for every Jamal Tinsley air-balled 3-pointer. And I applauded John Lucas III's attempt to somehow play worse than Tinsley. I enjoyed all these things because I believe that this is a necessary step for rebuilding. In order to truly improve, the Jazz need to bottom out this year and score a high lottery pick in this year's loaded draft. Or at least that's how the theory goes.

Despite stealing a win on Wednesday night, it's pretty safe to say that the Jazz are unabashedly and unequivocally tanking. And I've been supporting this until I decided to write a post about how awesome this was. When I sat down to write, a small doubt entered my mind. Was this really the best plan? Is tanking ever worth it? To confirm this theory, I needed to gather some empirical evidence. So I decided to take a look at the worst NBA teams in each of the past 30 seasons to see what great prize they were rewarded with for their futility. But first, some background.

The purpose of the NBA Draft is to provide an orderly method to incorporate the incoming crop of young players into the league each season. But the Draft is also designed to maintain the competitive balance of the league. The best team doesn't need much help, so it gets the worst pick, and vice versa. But over time, the league realized too many teams were intentionally losing (tanking) in order to improve their odds to land high-profile, franchise-saving players like Hakeem Olajuwon and Patrick Ewing. So in 1985, the NBA instituted the draft lottery in an attempt to discourage tanking. In my limited research, I think the league has succeeded in this attempt — except for a few notable and recent instances. So here are my results. I looked at the worst team in each season, then looked up their draft pick the next year and how many playoff games that draft pick played in for that team. Because that's the ultimate goal, right? Lottery picks are ideally supposed to turn teams into contenders. But how often has that really happened?

1983-84: Indiana Pacers (26-56): #2, (traded to Portland for Tom Owens), 0 playoff games

The last year before the lottery featured possibly the best draft class of all time. Back then, the NBA just did a simple coin toss between the worst teams to see who got the first pick. The Houston Rockets won the toss and took Akeem Olajuwon, who later won two titles for them. Indiana earned the second pick, but it belonged to the Portland Trail Blazers because of a trade they made three years earlier. In 1981, the Pacers sent away a future draft pick for undersized veteran center Tom Owens. Owens enjoyed the prime of his career in the ABA, and by the time he got to the Pacers, he was only good for about 10 points and five rebounds a game. He spent one year with Indiana, didn't help them make the playoffs, then retired one year later. So the Pacers got absolutely nothing in return for having the worst record in the 1983-84 season. The Blazers, meanwhile, infamously used that draft pick for the perpetually injured center Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan. So neither team came out of this a winner.

1984-85: Pacers (22-60): #2, Wayman Tisdale, 4 playoff games
Golden State Warriors (22-60): #7, Chris Mullin, 33 playoff games

In the first year of the lottery, each team that failed to make the playoffs had an equal chance of winning  the top pick. This time, the Pacers kept their pick, but they narrowly missed out on landing Patrick Ewing. So they settled on power forward Wayman Tisdale, who only spent three and half seasons in Indiana. He did take them to the playoffs once, but they failed to reach the second round. Not exactly what you'd hope for from the #2 pick.

The Warriors got the worst luck of the first lottery, and later the rules were changed so that the worst team would never pick lower than #4. Ironically, though, this #7 pick turned out quite successful for Golden State. Chris Mullin became a fan favorite and recently had his jersey retired by the franchise. He was a member of the Original Dream Team and was elected to the Hall of Fame. But I don't think he was as successful as people remember him being. Even though people today still talk fondly of those Run-TMC teams, they never made it past the second round of the playoffs. I think teams should at least reach the conference finals before we can reverently talk about how good they were.

1985-86: New York Knicks (23-59): #5, Kenny Walker, 26 playoff games

Rookie Patrick Ewing didn't immediately help the Knicks, and neither did the next season's rookie, Kenny Walker. The small forward from Kentucky arrived 10 points and five rebounds per game his rookie campaign, but saw his numbers gradually slip with each passing season. Even though he did appear in 26 playoff games for the Knicks, I hardly think he was responsible for getting the team there. I also think he must have gotten hurt, because after five years with New York, Walker was out of the league and playing in Spain and Italy. He eventually tried a comeback with the Washington Bullets, but that only lasted a season and a half. So all that to say this wasn't a particularly inspiring draft pick.

1986-87: Los Angeles Clippers (12-70): #4, Reggie Williams, 0 playoff games

If the Clippers wanted a small forward, they could have drafted Scottie Pippen. Or if they wanted a guy named Reggie, they could have tried Reggie Miller. Instead, they chose Reggie Williams, who only spent two and a half years with the Clippers, averaging 10 points per game. He and Danny Ferry were traded for Ron Harper and Loy Vaught, but I'd hardly consider that getting your money's worth for a 12-win season.

1987-88: Clippers (17-65): #1, Danny Manning, 10 playoff games

For the first time in the lottery, the worst team ended up with the best player. Danny Manning was undoubtedly the best player available, and he even had a couple of promising years with the Clippers, taking them to the playoffs twice. But injuries took away his explosiveness, and he was eventually traded for a very old Dominique Wilkins. One thing I've learned from this post is that luck plays a very large role in the NBA Draft. And some teams, like the Clippers, are simply unlucky.

1988-89: Miami Heat (15-67): #4, Glen Rice, 8 playoff games

The expansion Heat made the right move taking Glen Rice, and he did enjoy six productive seasons in Miami. But although he was one of the best shooters in the game, he wasn't the kind of guy who could turn your team into a contender. He only took Miami to the playoffs twice, and was eventually traded for Alonzo Mourning. Mourning, however, became a franchise player for the Heat and turned them into contenders. So I guess the Glen Rice pick turned out fairly well for the Heat in the long run.

1989-90: New Jersey Nets (17-65): #1, Derrick Coleman, 13 playoff games

For the second time, the worst team won the right to choose whoever they wanted. And the best available player was unquestionably Derrick Coleman. He had the size, skill and athleticism to potentially be the cornerstone of a contender. A lot of people believed he would be the next Karl Malone. Better even. But he ended up being one of the most disappointing players of his era. He did end up averaging a 20-10, made one All-Star game, and took the Nets to the playoffs three times. But he never could take them out of the first round, and left a lot of people believing he could have been a lot better than what he gave them. Eventually he was traded for Shawn Bradley. No joke!

1990-91: Denver Nuggets (20-62): #4, Dikembe Mutombo, 15 playoff games

Mount Mutombo enjoyed a very long and productive career in the NBA, and he's a surefire Hall-of-Famer, if only for his international status and charity work in Congo. But he only spent five years in Denver. He did help them become the first 8-seed to beat a 1-seed in the playoffs, but they couldn't get past the Jazz in the second round. The year after that, Denver got swept in the first round, and the year after that, they failed to make the playoffs. Dikembe then bolted Denver and signed a big, fat contract with the Atlanta Hawks. So ultimately, all he provided the Nuggets with was one lasting memory. At least they can still enjoy him in the GEICO commercials.

1991-92: Minnesota Timberwolves (15-67): #3, Christian Laettner, 0 playoff games

The Timberwolves are also a pretty unlucky franchise. In 1992, they just missed out on drafting Shaquille O'Neal or Alonzo Mourning. Instead they ended up with Christian Laettner, who is most known for his amazing shot at Duke and for being the token college kid on the Dream Team. But Laettner was a fairly productive NBA player, and he even made the All-Star team once … after he was traded to Atlanta for Andrew Lang and Spud Webb. So yeah, Minnesota really missed out on this one.

1992-93: Dallas Mavericks (11-71): #4, Jamal Mashburn, 0 playoff games

Jamal Mashburn was the best available pick after Dallas missed out on Chris Webber and Penny Hardaway. However, Mashburn never really did that much for Dallas. He did average 20 points per game, but after a couple of seasons, the Mavericks traded him for Kurt Thomas, Martin Muursepp and Sasha Danilovic. Yikes.

1993-94: Mavericks (13-69): #2, Jason Kidd, 46 playoff games*

Unsurprisingly, Jamal Mashburn only helped improve the Mavericks by two games. But it turned out well for them, because they were able to draft Jason Kidd, one of the best point guards of his generation. However, I had to give Kidd an asterisk because he didn't lead the Mavericks to the playoffs during his first stint with the team, which only lasted a couple of seasons. Kidd was traded to Phoenix for Michael Finley, who had a pretty nice career in Dallas. But Kidd's best contributions for Dallas came much later, after he decided to spend his last few productive years on a contender. It just happened to be a coincidence that the contender he chose was also the team that drafted him. That said, however, he did play a major role on a Dallas team that won a championship, and many teams would endure countless 11- and 13-win seasons for a title.

1994-95: Clippers (17-65): #2, Antonio McDyess (traded for Rodney Rogers) 3 playoff games

The Clippers may be unlucky, but they also make some pretty dumb moves. With the #2 pick, they had the option of drafting Jerry Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace and Kevin Garnett. They chose McDyess, who was a worthy selection, but then they immediately traded him for Rodney Rogers. Rogers was a decent power forward with 3-point range, but he wasn't the 20-10 guy McDyess was before his injuries. Rogers did take the Clippers to the playoffs once, but I really think this draft could have turned out a whole lot better for them.

1995-96: Vancouver Grizzlies (15-67): #3, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, 0 playoff games

The 1996 Draft was the best one since '84, but the poor Grizzlies were forbidden to have the #1 pick since they were an expansion team. So they missed out on Allen Iverson, but they still had Stephon Marbury, Ray Allen and Antoine Walker available. Kobe Bryant was also in this draft, but he assuredly would have demanded a trade to the Lakers (which he did do with the Charlotte Hornets). Steve Nash was taken late in this draft, but he wasn't really on anybody's radar back then. Instead of messing around with any of the aforementioned guards, the Grizzlies played it safe with a power forward. However, Abdur-Rahim was a little too small to be a true power forward and not quite speedy enough to be a true small forward. He did average 20 points a game for Vancouver, then was traded after five seasons to the Atlanta Hawks, where he became an All-Star. And the player traded for him? Pau Gasol. Of course, the Grizzlies didn't truly become competitive until they traded Pau for his little brother, Marc. But that's too far removed to consider this Abdur-Rahim pick much of a success. He failed to take the team to the playoffs, and there were a handful of players taken after him who probably could have done that.

1996-97: Grizzlies (14-68): #4, Antonio Daniels, 0 playoff games

The Grizzlies actually performed worse during Abdur-Rahim's rookie season, and they were awarded with a worse draft pick. Missing out on Tim Duncan, Vancouver decided to get a guard to pair with Abdur-Rahim. However, Daniels only lasted one year before he was replaced by Mike Bibby. Vancouver traded him to San Antonio, where he played fairly decently and even earned a championship ring. The most intriguing player Vancouver brought back in that trade was Felipe Lopez, but he really didn't amount to too much. In hindsight, the Grizzlies probably should have taken a risk on high schooler Tracy McGrady. I mean, what did they have to lose? A 13-win season?

1997-98: Nuggets (11-71): #3, Raef LaFrentz, 0 playoff games

It is quite difficult to win only 11 games in an NBA season. I'd imagine it must have been quite painful, as well, for the Denver fans of the time. What were they rewarded with? One big disappointment. Now, to be fair, LaFrentz was a very intriguing prospect at the time. He seemed to have all the skills you'd want from a center, plus the ability to shoot the 3. But it didn't quite turn out that way. After three and a half years, LaFrentz was packaged in a trade for an old Juwan Howard and an even older Tim Hardaway, leaving many of those sad Denver fans wishing their team had taken a different sharpshooting big man, Dirk Nowitzki.

1998-99: Grizzlies (8-42): #2, Steve Francis (traded to Houston), 0 playoff games

The first lockout was rough on everybody in the NBA (except the Spurs, who won their first title that year). But the lockout was especially tough for the Grizzlies, who didn't have enough games to get to double-digit wins. And despite all their losing, they still couldn't land the top pick, missing out on Elton Brand. But then Vancouver perpetuated their bad luck by drafting Steve Francis, who had no desire to play there. I have a pretty funny basketball card of Francis on draft night, and he looks pissed in his Grizzlies cap. I find it inconceivable that Vancouver was ignorant of Francis' abhorrence for the Canadian city and franchise. Regardless, the Grizzlies were forced to engineer a very complicated three-way trade to send Francis to Houston. They got a lot of stuff in return, but nothing really interesting. So you can chalk this up as another loss for the Grizzlies. If Vancouver really wanted a point guard, they just could've taken Baron Davis. Oh, and as for Francis? Despite all that fuss and whining, he only took the Rockets to the playoffs once.

1999-00: Clippers (15-67): #3, Darius Miles, 0 playoff games

Once again the Clippers became the victims of bad luck. The 2000 Draft was probably the worst in NBA history. Honestly, high schooler Darius Miles was the best the Clippers could have done. Sure, they could have taken Mike Miller, but would have really helped them? In this situation, you might as well take a chance on a high schooler. But, due to the Clippers' bad luck, Miles didn't really pan out. He played two seasons in L.A., averaging nine points per game, before he was traded for Andre Miller. It seemed like Miller was really going to turn the Clippers around, but he said he felt distracted in Los Angeles, and he bolted as soon as he could (spurning the Jazz in the process). The moral of the story is that the Clippers suck (or at least they did for a very long time).

2000-01: Chicago Bulls (15-67): #4, Eddy Curry, 0 playoff games

The Bulls hit rock bottom after Michael Jordan left, but they didn't officially earn the league's worst record until 2000-01. In 2001, they traded for the #2 pick, Tyson Chandler, and used the #4 pick on another center, Eddy Curry. In theory, this seemed like a brilliant plan. Twin towers, one to focus on offense, the other on defense, what could go wrong? Well, everything. Curry and Chandler never could mesh, and both had to be shipped away in a couple of years. Unlike Chandler, Curry never realized his potential, and ended up as one of the biggest busts in the league (figuratively and literally). Interestingly enough, Curry was sent to New York for a slew of players and draft picks, one of which eventually became Joakim Noah. But that's not a big enough consolation prize to redeem this Curry pick.

2001-02: Bulls (21-61): #2, Jay Williams, 0 playoff games
Warrior (21-61): #3, Mike Dunleavy Jr., 0 playoff games

Both these teams just missed out on Yao Ming, but Chicago had the right idea to get a good guard for its twin towers. However, Jay Williams' career was cut short after one season by a motorcycle accident. Perhaps he could have developed into something incredible, but he didn't exactly light it up his rookie year, averaging just nine points and four assists a game. Mike Dunleavy is still in the league, and his dad isn't anymore, so we don't have to call him junior. He spent four and a half seasons in Golden State, averaging 10 points per game, before he was packaged in a trade for Al Harrington and Stephen Jackson. Those two helped guide the 8-seed Warriors past the 1-seed Mavericks (but not past the Jazz). Looking back on the 2002 Draft, there is really only one great player these two teams passed on — high schooler Amar'e Stoudemire.

2002-03: Cleveland Cavaliers (17-65): #1, LeBron James, 71 playoff games
Nuggets (17-65): #3, Carmelo Anthony, 45 playoff games

Now things finally get interesting. After nearly two decades of the lottery successfully punishing tanking teams, everything backfired in 2003, the best draft class since 1984. There were reports of blatant tanking going around this season, foremost among them the Cleveland Cavaliers, desperate to land their hometown hero. And it worked. LeBron James single-handedly made the Cavs a contender, and he even took them to the Finals once (and he could have done it again had he not bailed on the team). Denver, meanwhile, couldn't go wrong with either Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh or Dwyane Wade. They chose Anthony, and he did lead them to the Western Conference finals once, which is about all you can ask from somebody. These two teams enjoyed the fruit of tanking, and they are the biggest reason why teams continue to tank today.

2003-04: Orlando Magic (21-61): #1, Dwight Howard, 57 playoff games

And another success for the tankers! Howard took the Magic all the way to the Finals, before becoming a massive headache for Orlando and the entire NBA. It took a long time, but he was eventually traded to the Lakers, sending the Magic into another cycle of rebuilding and tanking. But that doesn't negate the success he did have in Orlando. Being the best player on a team in the Finals is something to brag about. It is worth noting, however, that these three great tanking success stories — James, Anthony, Howard — did not win a championship for their team.

2004-05: Atlanta Hawks (13-69): #2, Marvin Williams, 42 playoff games

And so ends our streak of tanking success stories. But that's not because the lottery was too restrictive, but rather because the Hawks simply made a really, really stupid mistake. The team needed a point guard, and they had Deron Williams and Chris Paul staring right at them, but they became enamored by the potential of Marvin Williams. Forget the fact that he couldn't even start for his college team — he had potential! Well, that potential never paid off. He did appear in a bunch of playoff games for Atlanta, but he was never their best player, nor did the team ever advance past the second round. Currently, Marvin Williams is on the Utah Jazz, earning the Subway Sub of the Game award for making two 3-pointers. What a find! I'm still not exactly sure why Kevin O'Connor brought him in. Perhaps it was a result of his love affair with Mo Williams.

2005-06: Portland Trail Blazers (21-61): #4, Tyrus Thomas (traded for LaMarcus Aldridge), 18 playoff games

The 2006 Draft was productive for Portland. They traded for Brandon Roy and turned their own pick into LaMarcus Aldridge. It was a really good move, too, since Tyrus Thomas has now fallen into complete obscurity. The Aldridge/Roy combo seemed to have some good legs under it, but unfortunately Roy's legs (and Greg Oden's) couldn't hold up. So injuries derailed this potential tank success, but Aldridge is still going strong, and could probably still make Portland a contender with the right pieces around him. Maybe.

2006-07: Memphis Grizzlies (22-60): #4, Mike Conley Jr., 35 playoff games

The Grizzlies still struggled for a while after moving from Vancouver, but they did score a bit of a success with Mike Conley. No, he's not a cornerstone franchise guy like Kevin Durant, but he was the starting point guard of a Memphis team that made the Western Conference finals last year, and that's a tanking success in my book. With the lottery, you can't always find THE guy to make you a contender, but if you find an important piece of a team that becomes a contender, then you made out alright.

2007-08: Miami Heat (15-67): #2, Michael Beasley, 12 playoff games

The Heat went very quickly from winning a championship to being the NBA's bottom-feeder, all thanks to a Dwyane Wade injury. Missing out on Derrick Rose, Miami overlooked Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love, taking a chance on the troubled, but potentially talented Michael Beasley. Well, he's shown a lot more trouble than talent in his career so far, and was traded away to make room for LeBron James. But now he's back in Miami because no one else will touch him, and the Heat know they're good enough that he won't be able to hurt them. I suppose he's still young enough to redeem his career, but I really think this was a blown pick by the Heat. But what do they care? They just won two more titles.

2008-09: Sacramento Kings (17-65): #4, Tyreke Evans, 0 playoff games

The once brilliant Geoff Petrie very quickly lost his magic once the Chris Webber era ended. The Kings GM suddenly became incapable of making a good move, and drafting Tyreke Evans is one such example. While Sacramento was rather unlucky to miss out on Blake Griffin and James Harden, Ricky Rubio and Stephen Curry were both available. Granted, Evans did put up decent numbers — 20-5-5 his rookie year. But he has regressed a little bit each season, as his lack of a true position or identity has caught up with him. He's now an overpaid bench player in New Orleans, and the Kings are in as big a mess as ever.

2009-10: Nets (12-70): #3, Derrick Favors, 0 playoff games

After threatening to set a record for losses, the Nets acquired a new owner with deep pockets and a deep desire to win immediately. This made New Jersey an ideal dumping ground for the surly Deron Williams, and now the Jazz and Nets are still trying to figure out who got the better end of that trade. The Nets moved to Brooklyn, somehow convinced Williams to stay, and surrounded him with a lot of high-profile, yet aging players. If the Nets can contend for the title this year, then I guess that trade will have been worth it. Meanwhile, I'm still on the fence with Derrick Favors. Why doesn't he score more? The Jazz only have the worst offense in the league, so it's not like anybody's taking shots from him. I suppose he doesn't have anybody to pass him the ball, or a decent coach to guide him, but I'm starting to grow impatient. Being a decent defender doesn't help us too much when we can't score.

2010-11: Timberwolves (17-65): #2, Derrick Williams, 0 playoff games

It's still too early to make any judgment on this pick. So far, it hasn't looked to good, but you never know what could happen in a year or two. The same goes for these next two picks.

2011-12: Charlotte Bobcats (7-59): #2, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, 0 playoff games

2012-13: Magic (20-62): #2, Victor Oladipo

So here are the results of my research. In the past three decades, the worst team in the NBA has only landed the #1 pick four times. And only four times has the worst team drafted a player that took that same team to at least the conference finals (five times if you count Jason Kidd). So, speaking in these terms, teams that bottom out have a roughly 17 percent chance to become a contender through the draft. On the surface, it looks like the lottery is succeeding in its attempts to curtail tanking. And yet teams still tank, and I think that's mainly because of the handful of success stories that turn out really, really well. Teams are willing to deal with the Eddy Currys, Raef LaFrentzes and Michael Beasleys just to get that 17 percent chance of landing a LeBron James. They're willing to suffer through empty arenas, lost season tickets and diminishing fan bases just for that 1/6th of a chance to become relevant again.

And we have to remember that there are all sorts of types of tanking. Even playoff teams occasionally tank to set up a better matchup. For the sake of simplicity, I only focused on the teams with the worst record, but lots of teams successfully tanked by having the second or third worst record. The Sonics/Thunder are a perfect example. It took them about four or five years, but their tanking eventually paid off and they made it to the Finals with guys they drafted. The Chicago Bulls had to tank for a long time before they finally got lucky with Derrick Rose. And as long as teams like them can find success through intentional losing, more teams in the NBA will consider that strategy. Like the Utah Jazz.

So should the Jazz be tanking this year, considering all my research? Yes! Even if they don't get the top pick, they're guaranteed no lower than the fourth, and there will be somebody very good up there. Of course, one year of tanking usually isn't enough. And sometimes tanking can become addictive, even after extreme levels of success — look at the Cavs and the Magic. Tanking is a slippery slope. But, that 17 percent chance of landing a difference maker through 82 games of torture is probably the best chance the Jazz have right now. So I'll continue to cheer against my team, praise Tyrone Corbin for his inept coaching, and cry after every victory.