"HOUSTON - Early days, the Nets tank appears safe. But losing is the easy part. The hard part is walking the tightrope of losing without becoming losers. In the most star-driven league in sports, it's impossible to argue the importance of getting a franchise-changing talent. The most direct path to one is through the draft - or more to the point, through the lottery. Through losing."
"Understand that players do not tank, and neither do coaches. Organizations do that, by taking the former away from the latter. And after GM Sean Marks traded away Schröder and Finney-Smith during last season, he made sure to ship out Johnson this summer so as not to have a repeat. Mission accomplished. The Nets woke up Monday in Houston as one of just five winless teams in the league, and none of the other four are tanking. Both of Brooklyn's perceived lottery rivals - the Jazz and Wizards - already have notched victories. And Brooklyn's schedule just gets nastier from here."
Brooklyn pursued organizational tanking by trading veteran leaders to improve lottery odds after an unsuccessful tank last season produced the eighth pick. Coaching stability under Jordi Fernández and remaining leaders briefly kept the team competitive, but management removed those veterans to protect the tank. The Nets began the season winless and face a difficult schedule with nine straight games against quality opponents. Brooklyn is giving extensive minutes to five first-round rookies while rival lottery teams already have wins. The approach raises risks to player development, team identity, competitiveness, and fan goodwill while chasing franchise-changing talent.
Read at New York Post
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