"Eyes on 2014": NBA Teams in Rebuilding Mindset Try to Find Success in Losing As They Look at 2014 NBA Draft

Losing has become fashionable in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with some team fan-bases openly cheering for their team's defeat in hopes of having the right ping-pong balls bounce their way to land the top pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.

Teams like the Philadelphia 76ers, the Boston Celtics, the Utah Jazz, and the Phoenix Suns all have their eyes on the NCAA college basketball freshman class that would probably be rookies in the NBA this season had it not been for the leagues "one-and-done" rule that prevents high school basketball players from jumping straight to the league.

Among the young talent that has pro scouts salivating are University of Kansas SG Andrew Wiggins, Duke University SF Jabari Parker, Oklahoma State University PG Marcus Smart, University of Kentucky PF Julius Randle, and Australian national team PG Dante Exum.

For teams in small media markets such as Cleveland and Utah, "tanking" in hopes of landing a high draft pick may be the best option in landing a potential Top 10 talent that can turn the fortunes of a franchise around as opposed to going through the free agency route, where stars tend to pass over such franchises due to their location, according to an anonymous NBA general manager who spoke to ESPN The Magazine about the art of "tanking."

The anonymous GM seems to place the onus on the players for rebuilding his team through "tanking," noting that it is difficult to attract high-end talent when you are located in a smaller market. Players like Shaquille O'Neal and LeBron James spurned the smaller market teams that drafted them in favor of playing in bigger, more glamorous media markets such as Miami and Los Angeles; while Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard gave their teams' front-offices headaches, using their leverage to force trades to their desired destination.

"You need superstars to compete in this league, and the playing field for those guys is tilted toward a few big-market teams," said the anonymous NBA general manager to ESPN The Magazine. "Superstars are demanding trades and getting together and deciding where they want to go in free agency. It's tough for us to compete with that. So a high lottery pick is all we have."

With so much franchise-changing talent available in the 2014 NBA Draft and superstars teaming up to play in big markets, it is not that hard to figure out why a team already treading in futility might decide to look towards the future rather than invest in the present.

Maybe the word "tanking" is the wrong word to use, despite its media appeal to draw clicks and eyeballs to Web sites, giving the connotation of players conspiring in the locker room to throw games. With big bucks being thrown around in the NBA, no player looking to land a big payday would ever sacrifice his potential future earnings to benefit a team owner that may trade him the next day to make room in the salary cap.

"Rebuilding" may be a better way to frame the strategy, moving resources around to build up the team for long-term success rather hover in that 7-seed, 8-seed "no-man's land" of the postseason.

"I know that sounds crazy, but if you're an NBA general manager like me, the last place you want to be is in the middle," said the anonymous GM. "There are only two outcomes there: Either make the playoffs and be first-round fodder for one of the premier teams or miss the playoffs and pick somewhere around 11th to 14th in the draft. Either way, the odds are that you stay in that middle range. It's a recipe for disaster."

There is a method to the "tanking" madness, according to the GM who spoke with ESPN, noting that the approach is more about player evaluation than putting out twelve warm bodies on the court to lose games on purpose.

"First, you talk it over with ownership," said the anonymous GM. "I analyzed the team and told them what I wanted to do, the guys I wanted to get rid of and the guys with future value whom we wanted to keep. We obviously traded away some of our veteran guys who gave us a better chance of winning right now for future draft picks and young players."

The 76ers have taken such an approach, trading G Jrue Holiday and the 42nd pick in the 2013 NBA Draft for 2013 NBA Draft Nerlens Noel and a 2014 first round pick to the New Orleans Pelicans, giving Philadelphia a pick in the Top 5 should New Orleans finish in the bottom five at the end of the year.

The Jrue Holiday trade allowed for more playing time for rookie PG Michael Carter-Williams, who, ironically, has helped Philadelphia jump out to 3-2 record, beating the defending NBA champion Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls in the first week of NBA action.

The Celtics, who earned their first win of the season on Wednesday beating the winless Jazz 97-87, have taken a similar tactic, trading the longtime faces of the franchise, PF Kevin Garnett and SF Paul Pierce, along with G Jason Terry, to the Brooklyn Nets for draft picks in 2014, 2016 and 2018. The Celtics trotted out a starting lineup of Jordan Crawford (three year veteran), Avery Bradley (three year veteran), Vitor Faverani (rookie who played professional basketball in Spain), alongside veterans Jeff Green (five year veteran) and Brandon Bass (eight years in the league), against the Jazz, while giving rookie PF Kelly Olynyk a fair sharing of quality minutes, dropping 14 points and 8 rebounds in 29 minutes of action, gaining valuable NBA experience.

The anonymous GM does admits that the "tanking" rebuilding process - losing for a greater good - makes no sense to some and that the young talent available in 2014 NBA Draft class is what is driving "tank" fever among some general managers and fans, noting that he is paid to "understand the value of losing."

"In a different season, it might not make sense," said the anonymous GM. "But this draft certainly makes it more appealing."