Spurs are Tanking, AGAIN, But They Shouldn’t Be
After much internal debate, I’ve come to the conclusion that Gregg Popovich is intentionally losing games to increase the likelihood the Spurs land another top pick.
Austin Rivers casually talked about the Spurs tanking as if it was a given.
And Richard Jefferson gave us the quick sound byte:
I initially thought Gregg Popovich was just being an idiot contrarian (which he has been known to be) but the more I thought about it, the more inescapable the tanking truth became.
The Spurs literally trotted out Jeremy Sochan as the starting point guard.
That’s the kind of weird, bold strategy that acts as the perfect disguise for purposefully losing because you can fool Ryen Russillo into thinking, yeah this could maybe work (1:27:30) while simultaneously undermining your chances of winning.
And the more opposite-approach evidence you start stacking, the more obvious the tanking becomes.
But here’s a big piece of why I didn’t think the Spurs would be so greedy as to tank again: in many ways, it’s working against them.
Why the Spurs Shouldn’t Tank
Here are direct quotes from Victor Wembanyama:
His goal: “To qualify for the playoffs.”
“Tanking? It’s a weird strategy,” Wembanyama said in French in an interview with French newspaper Le Parisien. “I find it unreasonable, and I try not to think about it.”
So the #1 reason is it’s bad form to spit in the face of the guy who is bigger than your franchise.
#2 The continual losing is killing the team morale, and, most importantly, Victor’s.
Victor came into this season with so much exuberance and positive energy and you can see it seeping from him with every loss, every forced sit-out, every minute restricted, and every time his teammates ignore him.
Of course, when the morale is dented for one, it spreads amongst all.
#3 Victor and team’s development slowed and/or harmed.
One of the code words for tanking is “development” and we heard a lot of development talk surrounding the Spurs in the preseason.
Well, I haven’t seen a lot of development from the Spurs. Rather, the biggest reoccurring theme I’ve seen 1/3 of the way through the season is the Spurs still don’t know how to get the 7'4' giant the ball when he’s open.
#4 The ruining of history and legend.
What I dislike is the presumption of many things. For example, Victor’s inability to immediately lead this team into pretender status. As a related example, Victor’s ability to succeed as a solo superstar.
Victor is a basketball alien of epic proportions.
His first NBA season is supposed to be one where he begins to forge his legend.
This first season could have been one where the Spurs push the limits in the playoffs and then build on that foundation of experience and success.
Instead we have a jackass named Gregg Popovich who won’t play Victor and is willfully throwing the season away for a chance at getting whoever is at the top of this draft class.
There’s a very real chance Victor may not even win rookie of the year. And that would be directly because of Gregg Popovich.
#5 The Spurs already have draft picks and cap flexibility.
It’s not like the future is bleak. The Spurs have a lot of draft picks they can use or trade and they have the ability to free up cap space.
#6 Adam Silver might punish the Spurs.
From an interview with ESPN, “We put teams on notice,” Silver told employees. “We’re going to be paying particular attention to the issue this year.”
Okay, okay, Christmas Fools on the last one 😂
I didn’t know I would be writing about Pop and tanking so much, but here we are. Here’s more Spurs coverage to scroll through:
Why Gregg Popovich needs to be fired before it’s too late.
How Pop psychology got Victor good and now Victor accepts barely playing.
Brian Sutterer MD, the renowned YouTube sports doctor, called Victor’s mandatory minutes restriction paranoid.
Do you remember the blackjack scene in Casino where Sam Rothstein had to be called in out of bed? Would you house sit a wealthy person’s mountain home responsibly? Read how things got out of control at the blackjack table and in San Antonio.
After Pop is fired, who should replace him? I already know the perfect coach to replace Pop with. Spoiler alert: you know him too.
