Look, we get it. Tanking is a popular method to improve one’s team. It’s saying the quiet part out loud. Nobody really wants to own that as part of a long-term strategy to elevate the roster with premium talent. It has worked for some while only making things worse for others. The fact of the matter is that you can not see around corners. That prospect you’re highly coveting might not work out, get injured or another team may select him first. There are no guarantees in sports.
That simple concept should be enough to make people understand why deliberately tanking your seasons repeatedly only ensures enraging your fan base. The San Antonio Spurs’ horrendous 2022 season led to the drafting of Victor Wembanyama; that was a tank job that worked out.
But whether it be in movies or real-life circumstances, the person who ends up getting caught, captured or taken out is often the one who tries to be greedy, and were this proposal to manifest, the Spurs would appear to be stealing from the proverbial cookie jar while everyone watched.
This move would be disrespectful to Keldon Johnson and current Spurs players
Firstly, San Antonio has about 20 second-round draft picks from 2024–2030. Adding more low-quality assets is not what the Spurs need right now. It is time to start building this thing up. The trades that have been rumored for Alamo City have generally pertained to moving forward for a reason. Everyone recognizes not just Victor’s skill but also his strong desire to make strides in the right direction. Trading away a hard worker for a player who doesn’t play does not align with that.
Secondly, when you ship a player off, a classy organization considers the player they are moving and where they are moving him to. Keldon Johnson has been nothing but a class act during his tenure with the Silver and Black. If San Antonio decides to move him, he deserves to be shipped to a place with a better culture than Brooklyn. Their lack of assets and bad decision-making have stuck them in a non-competitive situation that will take time to fix. KJ has earned a better second team than that.
Lastly, Ben Simmons only has one year left on his deal, but that contract is worth $40 million. Bringing in someone making that sort of money whom very likely won’t see much if any, of the basketball court is screaming ‘We don’t want to win’ and you can’t be that blatantly obvious with your tanking. The fans would be justifiably furious and players who have been there for years like Devin Vassell have lost for long enough. Anything other than steps forward alienates those guys.
