Lakers Roundtable: Should The Lakers Tank This Season?

If they are tanking, does that leave a mark on their franchise steeped in history?

Burden: The Lakers’ grandest asset is denial. Whatever you may think Mitch and co. are plotting behind closed doors, you’ll never know about it.

It’s simple, really: if they ‘just so happen’ to lose games, then Kupchack will, once again, “unfortunately” have to cope with a high draft pick, but if the team finish fourth or fifth in the tank rank then he reserves the right to say “well, at least we tried”.

If they are tanking, they’ll never admit to it and you’ll never know of it. The off-season’s acquisitions made it look as if they were trying to win, and the ongoing injury crisis provides a continuously feasible excuse for poor performance.

It looks like they care, that’s the most important thing.

I don’t think that it scars the franchise’s history at all, and if they really want to turn sixteen into seventeen sooner rather than later, then they’ll be wise to stop thinking that it is too.

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Asai: Yes. The Lakers have always been about championships and since Dr. Buss has passed, the Buss family has failed to live up to the franchise standards. The CBA is an obstacle, but the Lakers TV deal offsets that. Championship or (Jim) Buss.

Patterson: It definitely does.  Players already don’t like the Lakers’ front office, so why make it even worse.  If potential free agent targets see the Lakers purposely losing games, why would they want to come here?

Rude: It’s a fair question to consider, but I’d be hard pressed to say it would tarnish their history. Tanking is an aspect of the NBA and the draft that can be exploited to one’s advantage. Name me a team who hasn’t tanked. The Spurs did it to get Tim Duncan. The Celtics did it for about 20 years. The Cavs did it to get LeBron James. That’s just part of the game. They won’t lose out on free agents simply because they tanked the last two years.

Tran: Sure, they won’t have that air of total invincibility anymore, but tanking wouldn’t tarnish the franchises sterling record.  The Lakers have spent an inordinate amount of time in the sun.  In the franchises previous 53 years spent in Los Angeles, the Lakers have missed the playoffs five times.  FIVE TIMES.  Do you know how many times the Los Angeles Clippers have missed the playoffs in their previous 44 seasons?  34 times.  The Lakers were due for a slim year or two and they won’t be worse for wear reputation-wise.