The NBA has a tanking problem. It is something the league combats on a yearly basis. But rather than most people who try to find solutions to the issue, I’ve embraced it. There is no sense in fighting it any longer. There are too many blue chippers worth throwing a season away for these days. The two biggest in the 2018 Draft, Michael Porter and Marvin Bagley, have made their college declarations (for Missouri and Duke respectively). Here are the four teams most likely to participate in yet another tankapalooza for the right to draft either of these dynamic big wings next summer.
NEW YORK KNICKS
I figured I’d get this one out of the way first so my salt didn’t build up over the course of writing. With or without Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks are going to be terrible in 2017-18. The club is doing its best to right the ship after the Era of Zen, but it isn’t going to be a quick fix. You look at their division and they’ll get no respite. The Celtics just got Kyrie Irving. The Raptors have kept their 50+ win core intact. The Nets are sneakily improving with a general manager who actually has a brain. It is only a matter of time before Philadelphia’s process produces a winner. New York has little to hang their hat on for this year, even less when Melo departs and on an even bigger level if Kristaps Porzingis somehow makes his way out of MSG as well. In my opinion, the Knicks would prefer Bagley, the better of the duo at getting to the rim.
PHOENIX SUNS
The Suns were the worst team in the Western Conference last season. They spent this past month chasing Kyrie Irving to no avail. Phoenix is a team loaded with young talent, but lacking that leadership or scoring punch that makes a team viable in the Western Conference. The 2017-18 Suns will probably try to bottom out one last time to put the final piece of their starting five together. For Phoenix, I think Porter is the more likely selection if they get the opportunity. They just drafted Josh Jackson who is more of a Bagley-type player. Porter can help spread the floor as well as hit the boards, something Phoenix was expecting sooner from their 2016 first rounder Dragan Bender. While they’ll stink this season, getting either Bagley or Porter could propel the Suns into the playoff picture rapidly.
CHICAGO BULLS
Chicago made their 2017-18 intentions well known when they finally pulled the trigger on a Jimmy Butler trade. They let Rajon Rondo walk and are about to do the same with Dwyane Wade. If D-Wade departs, consider Baby Bulls 2.0 in effect. Their oldest player on Opening Night would be 29-year-old, Robin Lopez. The last time the Bulls bottomed out like this they won the lottery almost immediately and got themselves Elton Brand. Even in the weak Eastern Conference, I don’t see any path to the playoffs for the Bulls as currently constructed. Of the Tankapalooza Twin Towers, I’d fancy the Bulls would go with Bagley. Though he isn’t nearly the talent Porter is, the Bulls did just use the lottery pick they got from Minnesota on Lauri Markkanen, a similar style of player. Bagley would bolster an offense that is going to be a tough watch in 2017-18.
SACRAMENTO KINGS
Tell me if you’ve heard this before. The Sacramento Kings are going to be miserable in the coming season. The cupboard isn’t bone dry after trading DeMarcus Cousins, but it is filled haphazardly and this summer’s free agent signings did them no favors. Their backcourt is pretty set with De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield going forward. The Kings’ frontcourt, however, is shambolic. 36-year-old, and pseudo-drug kingpin (jk), Zach Randolph is the only post player I fear in any capacity. That is why I think Porter would be the pick in Sacramento. Bagley is the flashier of the two in my opinion, but if you are Sacramento, and you actually win the lottery for once, you take the player that can do the most for your franchise. Porter could play three positions in Sac-Town and be better than anybody on the current roster at all three.
What other teams do you think will go into the tank for either Marvin Bagley or Michael Porter? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter @sportsftb or myself @TREVORutley. Until then, take in this last video of the two players featured actually playing against one another in a high school basketball game. For the record, Porter’s team was victorious.