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Five Out: The point of tanking, contrition, odd bets, trades and the thing itself

Yes, it’s Five Out. You might have thought, “Thank God that’s over.” Wrong. Like a 1980s horror movie character, it’s back.

Why Tank?

There seems to be a strong thread of NBA thinking and commentary that seems to have this notion as its basis:

The point of NBA basketball is to assemble the best young talent possible, at the lowest possible price, and thus creating a secure and dominant position, in terms of a kind of roster virtue, or desirability, based forever upon a future expectation of greatness.

This may not be stated, but to me, it seems implicit in much thinking.