Tanking in the NBA: A Guide - Part 1 - When to tear it down

If you’re here, I’m guessing you’re an NBA GM or Owner looking for guidance on the tanking process and how to do it correctly. Well, you’re in the right place because in this multi-part guide, I’ll be showing you the step-by-step process of how to do it.

This first part is how to know when it’s time to start the tanking process. This process can have many names, but the most common phrase is “tearing it down” and “blowing it up.” What does that mean? This means trading your best/most experienced players for the best possible draft picks possible. I’ll touch more on this later because you may be asking yourself why you would trade your best players just for picks.

But how do you know when you…