Does anybody else think we are tanking games on purpose?

[Demarcus Cousins]

We have had so many close games this year, its not funny and this makes me believe we are tanking for a high pick.
I'm not saying we are good enough to make the playoffs, but in reality we should atleast have 28 wins.
I know we can have way more wins than what we have now, but we are rebuilding, and what do you do when you are a rebuilding team?
You build through the draft with a HIGh top 5 pick and you do that by losing.
Us losing close games like this is a smokescreen, were only losing these close games because were tanking.if we weren't taking we wouldn't lose these close games.

Just saying but some of the coaching plays westphal draws up in the last two minutes is fishy.

 

[Tetsujin]

We have had so many close games this year, its not funny and this makes me believe we are tanking for a high pick.
I'm not saying we are good enough to make the playoffs, but in reality we should atleast have 28 wins.
I know we can have way more wins than what we have now, but we are rebuilding, and what do you do when you are a rebuilding team?
You build through the draft with a HIGh top 5 pick and you do that by losing.
Us losing close games like this is a smokescreen, were only losing these close games because were tanking.if we weren't taking we wouldn't won these close games.

Just saying but some of the coaching plays westphal draws up in the last two minutes is fishy.

If we're tanking, we're definitely doing a terrible job at it since we keep nearly pulling off the win (i.e. tonight). Just saying.

 

[rainmaker]

Not in any way, shape, or form. I think it's pretty clear they want to win these games as much as possible.

 

[PurpleHaze]

Only tank job was against San Antonio. We were helping Spurs to stay #1 in WC ahead of Lakers...

 

[gunks]

Naaaahh...

Young teams always have trouble closing out. This frustrating run is actually a sign that we're almost over the hump. Once The Kings learn how to close out, we're going to be seeing a lot more Ws. Every game (besides the one against the Spurs, and that blowout against the Celtics) in the past month and a half has been competitive.

And besides, there isnt anyone in this draft with superstar potential. Might be a few allstars, but there doesnt look to be a franchise player in the bunch.

 

[Demarcus Cousins]

Jimmer is the next best thing srs

 

[MassachusettsKingsFan]

No.

 

[Tyndel]

I actually typed out a post a few days ago about this same thing and never posted it. I don't think we are tanking and I don't think that the coaching staff intentionally killed the first 1/2 of the season so we could make a run the second 1/2 get a high pick and still have free agents not run from our calls. However there is always the possibility....

To be honest we needed to start winning this year. We needed to show Sac we are going to be big for a long time soon so we need a new arena we needed to put people in the seats this season going into a new cba and or lockout/walkout next year/summer. Hopefully we can do all the above on youth and potential and close games instead.

 

[Uncia03]

Two seasons ago when Blake Griffin was the consensus #1 pick, there might have been some questions. But the fact is, at that time we were trying shed salary and simply didn't have enough talent, so we lost because we were bad.

Last season there were a couple of star players including Cousins, and Westphal finally did what we'd been asking our coaches to do for years, and that's play the young guys. So he did, and we lost a ton of games. So I don't think we tanked it at all...though we didn't play well in the latter half of the season.

This season, with this team, I don't think there is any chance that we're trying to tank.

Think about this. Right now teams are worried about losing Carmelo, CP3, Dwight Howard, because of what the Heat did in the off-season.

So I think that Westphal & Petrie's primary concern right now is to begin to build a winning culture.
Creating that winning culture will make it far easier to re-sign Evans and Cousins. We need to immulate what the Thunder have done, and in order to do that we have to win.

These guys are playing so hard, you can see how much they want to win, so I don't believe for a second we'd be tanking for this year's draft.

Also, as was mentioned earlier, there just isn't an eye-popping college prospect this year. I'm sure there will be a couple of stars from this draft, but everyone has some warts or questions that need to be answered first, and I don't think that you sabatoge a chance to build a winning culture with two cornerstone players for the opportunity to get a question-mark player.

In fact, there is a very good chance that the Kings might be better off not getting a top 3 draft pick this year, as we have our two cornerstone players and we just need players who can fit in well, and the BPA might not be the best player for our team.

If we are drafting 2nd and Perry Jones III is available, do you draft him? He could be the best player in the draft in a few years if he puts it all together, or he could end up flaming out.

Players like Hamilton, Taylor, Fredette, Faried are all much safer picks, who excel in what they do and could come in and play a big role on our team and none of them are currently considered top 10 selections.

In fact this particular draft is one where we need to get another 1st round pick, because the quality of the players don't drop much all the way till the 20s.
Having a pick in the 15-20 range is almost as good as having a pick in the 5-10 range, as the talent really looks spread out. There are quite a few players who could fit nicely with Tyreke and Cousins, and don't forget we have a boatload of money to play with to hopefully bring in that perfect veteran piece(s).

I'm really looking forward to seeing how this team develops through next year.

 

[D13]

That'd be wonderful if management really had a evil plan they were sticking to. NTM, this years draft looks top heavy with the cba coming up... but I doubt it. Westphal's butt is on the cooker, and the team is getting dismissed in the media. We just don't have it figured out yet, and still kinda suck... (love ya kings!)

 

[Insomniacal Fan]

I think that other teams are expending the minimum required effort to beat us.

 

[KingsCitizen]

Tanking or not, I like what the way Kings are playing now. Especially these tight finishes against elite teams lately. Kids are gaining confidence and we are still quite sure to get a lottery pick. Although it quite clear there is no Lebron James in this draft. A top pick can always give you lots of flexibilities. Especially with the salary space the Kings have now.

Boston once turned a lottery pick into Ray Allen. Maybe we can make ours into a Danny Granger. . Or maybe finally we win the top pick and make our own big three with Evans, Cuz, and that pick.

Either way, the future is bright.

 

[Megalodon]

We have had so many close games this year, its not funny and this makes me believe we are tanking for a high pick.
I'm not saying we are good enough to make the playoffs, but in reality we should atleast have 28 wins.
I know we can have way more wins than what we have now, but we are rebuilding, and what do you do when you are a rebuilding team?
You build through the draft with a HIGh top 5 pick and you do that by losing.
Us losing close games like this is a smokescreen, were only losing these close games because were tanking.if we weren't taking we wouldn't lose these close games.

Just saying but some of the coaching plays westphal draws up in the last two minutes is fishy.

Not to insult you, but you have some terrible logic.

Terrible.

 

[ParniValjak]

Don't think we are tanking!

Its just a stage that every young team goes through. Match it with the best teams in the league but when to comes down to the crunch time just don't know how to close out a game. That will come. We are not far off!

Our form in recent times and our inability to close out the games against these teams has me VERY confident that we will be the HUGE improver next season. I am talking OKC Thunder type of improvement.

We just need to work at it more and keep our cool!