The Tankings: Teams gunning for next year's No. 1 pick
Tanking has become a major talking point in recent NBA seasons. Now, more than ever, teams that find themselves out of playoff contention by midseason are selling off veteran assets and putting increasing emphasis on their young, inexperienced players in the campaign's final games.
This dilemma will likely become even more noticeable after last week's incredible duel between the consensus top two picks in next year's draft - Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson. Coming over from France, the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama looked like one of the best prospects in league history, while Henderson's athletic pop at point guard would make him the projected top selection in nearly any other draft class.
With a potential franchise-altering player waiting for whoever chooses at the top of June's draft, we may see an all-out battle for league inferiority. Here, we rank the five franchises most likely to tank for a shot at Wembanyama.
5. Houston Rockets
At the very least, the Rockets are primed to put together a better record than last season, when they finished an NBA-worst 20-62. That said, they're still extremely young and inexperienced, which were key factors in why they recorded the most turnovers and fouls in the league last year.
Save for 33-year-old veteran Eric Gordon, Houston's starting lineup consists of players aged 22 or younger. There are somehow only six players on the roster born before 1998. Despite the Rockets' promising core, led by back-to-back top-three picks in Jalen Green and Jabari Smith, that level of youth is unlikely to lead to many victories in the NBA. From a tanking perspective, at least Houston won't have to rest its veterans down the stretch - because they virtually don't have any.
4. Indiana Pacers
As currently constructed, the Pacers aren't a bottom-five team in the league, but they're a trade or two away from being a prime candidate for the Wembanyama sweepstakes. Contending teams, particularly the Los Angeles Lakers, have long been interested in quality veterans Buddy Hield and Myles Turner, and it's only a matter of time before a desperate squad bites and gives the Pacers the package they desire.
Should Indiana move on from its proven starters, it'd hand the keys over to a young, talented core of Tyrese Haliburton and Bennedict Mathurin. Outside of that pairing, though, the rest of their prospects - especially in the frontcourt - have limited upside. A top pick could take the Pacers out of their rebuild almost as quickly as they entered it.
3. Oklahoma City Thunder
Shocker: The Thunder are once again likely to be in the mix for the No. 1 pick. Despite making endless trades to accumulate countless draft picks over the last few seasons and hitting the jackpot with guards Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey, few expect the team to make a marked improvement in 2022-23. A major reason is that this year's second overall selection, Chet Holmgren, is slated to miss the entire season with a foot injury.
Another reason is the Thunder's unwillingness to surround their young core with veteran pieces. Only Mike Muscala and Trey Burke have more than 300 games of NBA experience on the roster, and neither is making it high on opposing teams' scouting reports. Perhaps adding Wembanyama will finally allow Oklahoma City to move past the rebuilding phase.
2. Utah Jazz
The Jazz watched the tanking efforts of the Thunder in their own division and decided to follow suit. Thanks to blockbuster trades of stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, the Jazz are fully committed to starting over with a handful of young assets and three first-rounders in the upcoming draft.
Because Utah is in the early stages of fully tearing down a perennial playoff team, it may have more quality pieces than the other rosters on this list. However, no squad has a more open desire to tank than the Jazz, so expect many of those players to be dealt, waived, or intentionally sat by the trade deadline. For a franchise looking for its next cornerstone, getting Wembanyama or Henderson would be a massive boost.
1. San Antonio Spurs
Since ending their 22-year playoff streak in 2020, it's been a continuous downfall for legendary head coach Gregg Popovich and the Spurs. The team spent a couple years floating in the upper-lottery range of the draft before finally letting the bottom fall out this offseason with the trade of All-Star guard Dejounte Murray.
The cupboard is extremely bare in San Antonio, both from a production and a prospect standpoint. Keldon Johnson (14.4) and Josh Richardson (12.0) are the team's only two players averaging double-digit points in their careers, and this year's No. 9 pick, Jeremy Sochan along with Jakob Poeltl are the only players drafted inside the top 10 on the roster. While some squads on this list will have to sit or trade players in order to reach their tanking potential, the Spurs are virtually guaranteed to be at that point from Opening Night.