The first rule of tanking is, apparently, that you don’t talk about tanking. Last week, Mark Cuban was fined $600,000 by the league for commenting publicly on tanking in a podcast appearance with Julius Erving (you can’t make that up). In it, he admitted to telling players that losing was what the Mavericks needed for the long run. It’s the truth, but it’s not a convenient one, or one that assists competitive balance.
“I’m probably not supposed to say this, but, like, I just had dinner with a bunch of our guys the other night, and here we are, you know, we weren't competing for the playoffs.