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The Sixers set the bar on tanking over the last several seasons, compiling teams that had no shot to be competitive with an eye on landing the No. 1 overall pick. Philadelphia’s bold strategy led to conversations on the topic and even efforts toward lottery reform. However, this season it appears every team is at least trying to put its best foot forward and the topic has become a dead issue, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News argues.

“Nobody is doing it this year,” one general manager said. “You need to get your owner on board if you are going to tank an entire season, and I don’t think any owners have the stomach for it anymore. They gave up on it in Philadelphia, because the owner in the end didn’t want to keep seeing his team be a laughingstock. I think there is a lot of pressure from other owners not to let your team go in that direction. It’s something owners worked out among themselves.”

Commissioner Adam Silver believes that teams have realized the importance of trying to win games.

“You don’t want teams to intentionally be bad,” Silver said. “I think, as I said [back in 2014,] there is invariably a correction in the marketplace as well, regardless of what rules we have on the draft lottery. The fact is, teams don’t want to be bad for a long time. They need to sell tickets, they need to keep their fans engaged, our owners care about their reputations, the players don’t want to be part of losing traditions. If you noticed this season, I think there has been a swing back to the realization that culture is important, building winning traditions is equally important.”

Deveney adds that the topic of tanking hasn’t been part of the discussion during negotiations on the new CBA, which is something that both sides believe could be reached sometime next month.

Do you still consider tanking an issue? Don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts and opinions. We look forward to what you have to say!

Scouting players and predicting how their skills will translate to the NBA is one of the more difficult tasks front offices have on their plates. Looking back over past drafts and how many lottery picks never evolved into stars, or even made a significant impact in the league, illustrates just how often stats, combine numbers and pure gut instinct often come up short.

Of course, we get the opportunity to critique these moves with the benefit of hindsight — a luxury that GMs don’t have on draft night. Having said that, it’s still fun to go back in time and take a theoretical look at how these drafts should have/could have gone.

We’ve been revisiting the 2008 draft, which had a number of players who have gone on to post big numbers in the league. This was the year of Derrick Rose (No. 1 overall), Russell Westbrook (No. 4), Kevin Love (No. 5), Brook Lopez (No. 10) and Nicolas Batum (No. 25). We’ve now arrived at the No. 30 overall pick, the final one in our re-draft. That pick was held by the Celtics, who in the “real world” draft, select J.R. Giddens. So cast your vote for who Boston nabs to close out the first round.

Also, don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the pick and why you voted the way that you did. If we fail to list a player who you think should be selected, feel free to post that in the comments section and we’ll be certain to tally those votes as well.

1. Bulls — Russell Westbrook [Actual Pick — Derrick Rose]
2. Heat — Kevin Love [Actual Pick — Michael Beasley]
3. Wolves — Derrick Rose [Actual Pick — O.J. Mayo]
4. Sonics/Thunder — DeAndre Jordan [Actual Pick — Russell Westbrook]
5. Grizzlies — Brook Lopez [Actual Pick — Kevin Love]
6. Knicks — Serge Ibaka  [Actual Pick — Danilo Gallinari]
7. Clippers — Nicolas Batum [Actual Pick — Eric Gordon]
8. Bucks — Goran Dragic [Actual Pick — Joe Alexander]
9. Bobcats/Hornets — Danilo Gallinari [Actual Pick — D.J. Augustin]
10. Nets — Ryan Anderson [Actual Pick — Brook Lopez]
11. Blazers (from Pacers) — Eric Gordon [Actual Pick — Jerryd Bayless]
12. Kings — George Hill  [Actual Pick — Jason Thompson]
13. Pacers (from Blazers) — Robin Lopez [Actual Pick — Brandon Rush]
14. Warriors — Courtney Lee [Actual Pick — Anthony Randolph]
15. Suns — Roy Hibbert [Actual Pick — Robin Lopez]
16. Sixers— Nikola Pekovic [Actual Pick  — Marreese Speights]
17. Raptors — O.J. Mayo [Actual Pick — Roy Hibbert]
18. Wizards — Mario Chalmers [Actual Pick — JaVale McGee]
19. Cavaliers — Timofey Mozgov [Actual Pick  — J.J. Hickson]
20. Bobcats/Hornets (from Nuggets) — Michael Beasley [Actual Pick — Alexis Ajinca]
21. Nets (from Mavs) — Omer Asik [Actual Pick — Ryan Anderson]
22. Magic  — D.J. Augustin [Actual Pick — Courtney Lee]
23. Jazz — Marreese Speights [Actual Pick — Kosta Koufos]
24. Sonics/Thunder (from Suns) — Jerryd Bayless [Actual Pick — Serge Ibaka]
25. Rockets — Kosta Koufos [Actual Pick — Nicolas Batum]
26. Spurs — JaVale McGee [Actual Pick — George Hill]
27. Hornets — J.J. Hickson [Actual Pick — Darrell Arthur]
28. Grizzlies — Luc Mbah a Moute [Actual Pick — Donte Greene]
29. Sonics/Thunder —Anthony Morrow [Actual pick — D.J. White]
30. Celtics — ?? [Actual Pick — J.R. Giddens]

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