For those that are so keen to tank and get picks lets look back on the past tanking teams and where they are.
Firstly – Im using the top 8 picks (anything after that and you aren't tanking)
Secondly – Im using drafts from 2015-2021, anything older than that and the players are out of the league anything sooner and they are only 3rd/4th yr players!
Lastly – EVEN if this proved tanking a good strategy (unsure) could we consider that maybe Miami are bad at developing talent?
Everyone on here seems to hate Jovic, Beasley was not great, Winslow uhoh Boston offered 4 1st for him at the draft.
Also Miami since 05 has only drafted in the FIRST ROUND (and kept the pick) 10 times!

9 East teams and 11 West teams have drafted in the top 8 between 2015 and 2021

of these 19 teams, 4 have become champs and 4 more have made the finals
West – CHAMPS
DEN won their chip, but Jokic their MVP was a second rounder! (do they count for tanking?)
Lakers used their 4 draft picks to essentially get AD then Luka
GSW 2 timelines is now 1 slowly dying timeline (1 year tank?)
OKC only 1 top 8 draft pick in this time! Giddey – Gone!

West – FINALS
DAL – If they keep Luka…. RIP (also a 1 yr tank?)
PHO – Everyone from these drafts are gone now. 4 picks, 1 appearance, was the losing worth it?

East – CHAMPS
Boston – they blew it up tanked for 2 years, competed ever since
Toronto should be here but isnt, why? their 1 draft pick was after their championship season! not certified tanking

EAST – FINALS
Non of the tanking east teams have made the finals but Boston! 29 top 8 draft picks across 6 seasons and none of these teams have made the Finals!

Also lets look at where some of these teams currently reside, yes some may be bad franchises but surely they could get themselves out of the gutter… right?
ATL – 9th -3 top 8 picks, lots of losing for your peak being ECF 1 time
CHI – 11th – 3 top 8 picks and still cant get into the playoffs
CLE – 4th – cant get past 2nd round with their 4 top 8 picks
DET – 1st – 3 top 8 picks, maybe now they are a chance?
NYK – 3rd – 4 top 8 picks, But really its Brunson and others who have got them there, there being losing ECF
ORL – 7th- 5 top 8 picks…. 1st round exit (1 spot above Miami, 5 years of tanking to be 1 spot better than us in 2025/26)
PHI – 6th – 3 top 8 (2 1st picks!), never seen a ECF! lots of losing to finish second round.
MIN – 6th – 4 top 8, (2 1st picks!), bowing out to the champ in WCF is admirable though.
SAC – 15th – 4 top 8, its 1st rnd or bust for them every season!

Tanking…. is not guaranteed way to rebuild a team.
Even then with the now flatter draft odds, finishing 3rd to bottom in the east doesn't guarantee a good pick anymore! A team could tank and still get the 8th pick!

Ultimately does this Miami team suck? Maybe, probably.
But would gutting the team and chasing the bottom help? Probably not.

5 comments

  2. Most of these idiots couldn’t survive a tank lol, Tanking assures nothing but alot of losing. So many teams have tanked for countless years (wiz, blazers, Hornets Jazz, Pels, Kings, Nets,Magic) to no avail, just a burnt out fanbase.

    Like you said, are we good? Most would say no, I’d say we’re an average team. Every franchise in NBA history has gone through a rough phase, it’s part of the fandom. Still, I enjoy wins and would rather my team not purposely lose. All in all, I’m grateful to be a Heat fan

  3. So first off I appreciate the time you put into this!

    Secondly a few points here:

    Boston never tanked they got so god damn lucky the nets came to offer them their future for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. Not saying trading Bam and Herro would net us that sort of package but at least you can get something.

    The 2020 draft was a weird draft due to covid and teams couldn’t properly scout players.

    GSW were high off their own supply for thinking they can do a 2 timeline approach

    Minnesota has gone to back to back WCF ever since they drafted the number 1 overall pick

    Detroit has a foundation to contend at the top of the table for years to come led by their number 1 pick

    No one is coveting the top 8 its at minimum the top 3 you want to be in.

    I believe you have to be strategic in when you tank, 2023, 2025, and now 2026 are drafts you should tank in. 2027 compete given that the class is no where near in comparison.

    Lastly even if you don’t land a top 3 pick you would still have a high enough pick that would entice teams to trade with you. What are they supposed to do with a 16th pick when their franchise player is about to leave and they have to start all over?

  4. Tanking without player development means nothing.

    Bad tankers are teams like the wizards, pelicans, hornets, jazz and portland. These teams always get the top picks but these players never develop. On the other hand semi tanking teams like Okc, Sas, Min and Detroit develop young players after their stars left to compete in 3-5yrs.

  5. For me it’s simple, this roster is not doing much at all this season so would I rather Heat aim for a lotto pick and potentially get a great young player to be excited about OR would I rather see Heat get a play-in spot, make it to the 1st round and then have it end like last playoffs?

    Give me a lotto pick, this season is the perfect time since Miami fully owns their pick🤷‍♂️

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