Sir Charles in Charge
Fansided

New York Knicks: Revisiting the tanking question

By Jonathan Macri

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 15: Tim Hardaway Jr. #3 of the New York Knicks celebrates after he hit a three point shot in the final minutes of the game against the Utah Jazz at Madison Square Garden on November 15, 2017 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 15: Tim Hardaway Jr. #3 of the New York Knicks celebrates after he hit a three point shot in the final minutes of the game against the Utah Jazz at Madison Square Garden on November 15, 2017 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 8
Next
CHARLOTTE, NC – DECEMBER 21: Teammates Matt Carroll #33, Stephen Jackson #1 and Boris Diaw #32 of the Charlotte Bobcats sit on the bench during their 99-81 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder at Time Warner Cable Arena on December 21, 2010 in Charlotte, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC – DECEMBER 21: Teammates Matt Carroll #33, Stephen Jackson #1 and Boris Diaw #32 of the Charlotte Bobcats sit on the bench during their 99-81 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder at Time Warner Cable Arena on December 21, 2010 in Charlotte, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

The Biggest Losers

It’s easy to avoid these questions by just focusing on the successes. What we don’t often pay attention to are the other stories…the ones of teams who have “institutionalized losing,” as Knicks’ GM Scott Perry recently referred to tanking, and haven’t lived to tell the tale.

Let’s start with only team from the last two decades with a worse net rating than the one Chicago entered that Knicks game with: the 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats.

You remember that Bobcats team, right? No? You should. They were way, way ahead of their time. Sure, teams had “tanked” before, but never like this. They knew full well that Anthony Davis was the pot of gold awaiting them at the end of the rainbow, and they rode a sled of bricks down that rainbow right into the toilet.

(As an aside, Charlotte had a 48 true shooting percentage to go with their 7-59 record for the year. To put that into context, of the 110 players in the league this season taking at least 10 shots per game, only 5 are worse that what that Bobcat team collectively achieved, and four are rookie guards. Paul Silas should have gotten a medal for making it through that season. Shockingly, he has not been hired since. Nothing sticks to your clothes quite like the stench of old Bobcat pee.)

What did the Charlotte franchise get for their troubles?

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, of course. They followed that up with Cody Zellar, and then took Noah Vonleh and Frank Kaminsky in the two years after that. Four seasons, four top ten picks – including two in the top four – and zero guys who could start for a contender.

That’s just one example, but team after team, pick after pick, we’ve accumulated ample evidence that under normal circumstances, the more often you pick near the top of the draft, the worse off you’ll be.

Home/New York Knicks