By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Adam Silver spoke on the issue at Abu Dabhi as eloquently as he could: “I know that many of our NBA teams are salivating at the notion that potentially, through our Lottery, that they could get him– so they should all still compete very hard next season”.
“Him” is Victor Wembanyama, the biggest prospect to hit the NBA draft after LeBron James, a player that can potentially create a contender overnight and one more European top talent that everyone will get to enjoy on the biggest stage of the world, without European basketball getting back much in return (but that’s another story).
So if you are not already an NBA contender, you can be cynical and tank – a.k.a. don’t care about losing – in hopes of getting to pick first in the 2023 NBA draft.
Having said that, the worst record in the NBA translates only to a 14% chance to get the top pick. Still, it’s totally worth the risk.
While the top teams of the league will fight for the ring, the worsts have already decided in the summer to blow their rosters up and hope for the bottom, which can instantly propel them back to the top.
The Jazz pretty much cleared their roster in the summer and with the personnel they have, they know that making the playoffs are not a priority, to put it mildly. The same applies to the San Antonio Spurs which practically gave away Dejounte Murray. The Oklahoma City Thunder are doing the same for years and this is not expected to change with Wemby on the line.
Add Detroit to the list, while depending on how the season starts the Rockets, the Pacers, even the Magic, the Hornets, and the Kings might join in.
With the notable exception of Houston, those are pretty much small market teams and Victor Wembanyama will simply change their value drastically.
As Woj said one NBA executive told him that drafting the French phenomenon may add as much as $500 million to the value of that NBA franchise, so you do the math.