With the Lakers losing so many games this season, some begin to wonder if it’s intentional for draft purposes. But I’m here to assure you, that’s not the case at all.
With all the losing going on in the NBA, fans begin to wonder if teams like the Los Angeles Lakers stop trying – intentionally lose for draft positioning.
The so called “tank” has taken over all the losing teams. And with the Lakers being one of them, we’ve seen some atrocious losses this year, along with unbelievable losing streaks. With the media, NBA fans, and everyone else calling this losing intentional for an improved draft pick, fans begin to questions whether these teams would be punished under the regime of former commissioner David Stern.
I have to say that’s complete nonsense. Yes, the Lakers have been awful, yes there have horrible losses against worse teams than them, and yes, they have one of the worst records in the NBA. But the Lakers deserve no punishment for all this losing, or “tanking” like some call it.
Commissioner Adam Silver was asked by NBCSPORTS about all the losing and tank speculation and of course , he also added it’s complete nonsense:
Commissioner Adam Silver (Alex Trautwig / Getty Images)
“My understanding of tanking would be losing games on purpose,” Silver said. “And there’s absolutely no evidence that any team in the NBA has ever lost a single game, or certainly in any time that I’ve been in the league, on purpose.”
Quickly discussing the assumption players go out and throw games intentionally, Silver added teams are still suffering from the new collective bargaining agreement.
He went on by saying, “…to me, what you’re referring to I think is rebuilding. And I’m not sure it’s just a function of the collective bargaining agreement; I think there’s a balance with any team of the need to look out to the future and at the same time put a competitive product on the floor.”
Although the Lakers are suffering from these factors, they still manage to put together a solid win every now and then – most recently in a 114-110 win March 9 over the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Staples Center. Jodie Meeks lead the game in scoring with a staggering 42 career high points. Outscoring the whole Thunder team singlehandedly in the third 20-19.
However, you can’t say that about some other terrible teams. One example: the Philadelphia 76ers – losers of 25 straight games – with 16 of those games being decided by double digits. Even the injury prone Lakers haven’t been that bad and nonexistent with effort every night. So as you can see, yes LA is terrible but not intentionally. They still fight every game, give it their all and they don’t roll over. Other bad teams haven’t shown the resilience the Lakers have, which is why they will not be punished for all the losing, and why we need to look at this season as just a bad year.
Kobe Bryant said it best, that’s not what the Laker organization stands for, and it’s not what the players play for.
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