More NBA teams should be TANKING

[@rileymcphee9429]

The Josh Giddey trade was a win-win, but the Bulls were stupid not to get any picks back for Caruso.

[@estebanfrancoh221]

All these made me remember when the Brooklyn Nets were losing really bad just for all those picks to go to the Celtics, who indeed had a good team.

I almost always agree with you. Josh Giddy being a really good player is one of those times I do not.

[@whatslaps]

U know what I'm sayin though. He's got upside

[@brenogarbelini7895]

No pls, the less tanking there is the better the league is

[@bazmil13]

Man - I love you style of showcasing NBA content. Keep it up!

[@whatslaps]

Thanks man, glad you're enjoying it!

[@bazmil13]

​@@whatslaps I'm not enjoying it - I'm loving it :) - you've deserved to eat a corn dog today - even every day :P Stay strong!

[@AccursedBlade]

You’re gassing up Josh Giddey far more than he should be

[@goldensun1860]

Jus say u don’t know ball bro

[@BiggidyB]

@@goldensun1860are you judge & jurry…be grateful & share your knowledge don’t hoard it🕊

[@bnsz8704]

He’s been decent this year

[@jeromejoas]

Giddey is a swiss army knife

[@stevenisadragon]

​@@bnsz8704 He's having the worst statistical year of his career

[@emi_fisher]

Tanking is very much a north american phenomenon, in european football (soccer) you can't do it as your team would just get relegated to an inferior league

[@theprotractor0379]

The downside of the European soccer system is that there's no parity as it's just rich teams getting all the good talent. Imagine the Lakers or the Knicks just being able to buy Paolo and Wemby and whatnot

[@whatslaps]

That's true. Better system for sure

[@justingallant648]

I like tanking but I dislike how far some communities will take it. I'm a big raptors fan and the subreddit talks about tanking all day every day to the point that there are disappointed posts when we win the occasional game (they haven't been very happy about the streak we're on). I'd need a refresher on how the lottery percentages work now, but I remember hearing someone suggest having a competition amongst the teams with the worst records to decide who gets the #1 pick. I think that's a pretty good idea because it incentivizes tanking teams to still be competitive.

[@jareddudleythegoat7220]

Raptors fanbase has become so bad in recent years

[@Sage_Hashish]

Wouldn't that just lead to teams that are mid to start tanking so they can beat the truly bad teams? And the really bad teams would almost never get the chance for a #1 pick.

[@justingallant648]

@ very good point, I actually don’t know how they’d avoid that. I suppose they’d have to find a way to incentivize mid teams to stay mid lol. That’s not happening

[@Theburkr]

@@justingallant648 I don’t think you should put the onus on the individual players on a team to go win a game so the franchise gets the first pick or whatever. That high draft pick they competed for can easily be used to draft their replacement.

[@justingallant648]

@ I didn’t suggest putting the onus on anyone, I just suggested a loose idea that I thought would be entertaining. I do agree though, it’s quite flawed Edit: accidentally said “lose” instead of “loose”

[@tommyzhang8540]

I love your videos

[@whatslaps]

I love you

[@taylorsilver2566]

Your hair is looking luscious af today homie

[@whatslaps]

💁🏼

[@USMC19]

Great video, informative. Do you have a favorite basketball theme movie ?movies?

[@whatslaps]

I loved high flying bird

[@EvanBlack11]

What a cool way to create NBA videos keep it up

[@whatslaps]

Will do brother 🤙

[@M_11_m41n]

The one thing a team has to understand, if they're trying to rebuild, is to not chase the future or watch the future fall. Weather if you're fully tearing it down from the studs or retooling it to a younger core, a team must understand the vision and plan of what they're trying to rebuild for.

[@whatslaps]

Right. They need to know what players they are building around.

[@j0hn451]

Step through move and pivot foot video could clear the air. Their is a rift in rules between NBA and lower leagues and the euro league

[@maartenvz]

There's a couple of things you forgot to mention. A player on a rookie contract can simply sign choose to not extend, sign his qualifying offer, play it out and become an unrestricted free agent. Ofcourse almost no one does this as they prefer the security of signing an extension early. Furthermore the draft odds have been evened out, there's no guarantee you have a top 3 pick if you have the worst record. It's therefore much less rewarding.

[@whatslaps]

Ayton had no choice but to play for the suns right? Since he wasn't extended the summer before

[@ivaneurope]

The biggest flaw in tanking at today's NBA is that the lottery odds have been flattened out. And this means that if you have the worst record in the league by choice you're not assured a Top 3 pick, let alone the 1st overall pick. Let's look at the curious case of the Detroit Pistons - they were garbage in 2022, 2023 and 2024 and in all three years they had a 14% chance of landing the 1st overall pick (in 2023 and 2024 they were the worst team in the league). Instead, they received the 5th overall pick in all 3 drafts. In 2024 the Atlanta Hawks, which were a play-in team, won the lottery with just 3% chance. The league is trying to make tanking even harder in the future and the second apron basically makes sure that you can't just stack up talent on cheap contracts for the first few years and then resign them on big money contracts. Sacrifices will have to be made.

[@whatslaps]

I like the lottery odds TBH. I think they hold teams somewhat accountable to making a decent product

[@jtbaby69]

Not much to add here but I did see a TikTok of your content the day before the platform was taken down so I thought that was pretty rad

[@whatslaps]

Thank God we're back up over there too! 🇺🇸

[@rhopere]

Hey man, big fan of the channel. I was hoping you could do a video about the role that "aura" plays in people's perception of a player. For example, Jayson Tatum on paper basically has all the requirements you need to be a really popular, fan-favorite type player, but that's not really how he's perceived. People see him as kind of goofy, corny, or cringy, so the way that people evaluate him (as a player) changes based on that.

[@pdiddy5235]

He shows up to work, plays hard, no off court issues, great dad, but the NBA does not care about that.

[@dr.mikelitoris]

My sweet prince Tatum ❤

[@whatslaps]

I think I could do this one. It'd be fun to figure out why Tatum just ain't got the juice.

[@rhopere]

@@whatslaps Awesome, thanks!

[@alexnoel2]

I think there is a business equivalent to tanking, and that's writing-off losses for tax exemptions

[@whatslaps]

Yeah, or personally not making income so you can collect full unemployment benefits

[@tzfsr]

Explain the "Knicks should kill their team for emergency draft" that would be so funny. What that look like today lol

[@asemedits]

exactly what the lakers should be doing, instead they are in a wishful scenario where they think they are "one piece" away from a championship team

[@whatslaps]

I know. JV isn't saving that team.

[@simbachegura6232]

The incentive kind of got taken away due to the new lottery system but I agree with you

[@whatslaps]

true, but teams still out here self-destructing.

[@ididntaskverified3663]

Giddey situation is what got him traded, you remember the booing when he went out 😂

[@whatslaps]

I think that had something to do with it too.

[@leojamesquiambao1047]

Have you thought of making a "how to increase your trade stock" video? Or what you should do and not do if you want to be traded?

[@whatslaps]

Id watch that video it sounds interesting but I don't know how to go about making a video on something like that

[@leojamesquiambao1047]

@whatslaps ah. Had that video idea after what's currently happening with the Heat and Butler see

[@thetwiggamingchannel9578]

It's strange that in a lot of ways, many of the mid teams like the Warriors and Bulls should be trading away their best players and rebuilding, but from a profit and politics standpoint, it makes no sense. (Yes I think Steph Curry should be traded for the good of the franchise)

[@idkkkkkkkk_]

love your hairstyle !!

[@mbison9]

The hair is looking luscious today for sure

[@bloke9864]

I thought tanking was like somet´hing tankin g in the water aka going to the bottom xd

[@bloke9864]

I know it makes no sense but for some reason I always though it had something to with water

[@whatslaps]

maybe it do. I can't say you're wrong.

[@DemoGordon1281]

Can you explain the draft lottery and how that works?

[@whatslaps]

I got a video on it from a while back

[@phipsdeus2]

Suns should have let Ayton walk.

[@whatslaps]

I didn't hate the signing at the time nor the trade for that matter.

[@ThaddeusFord065]

saw someone looking exactly like you at the gym had to do a triple take

[@whatslaps]

if it wasn't at planet fitness downtown, it wasn't me.

[@nathanwinter5050]

Early gang! Keep it coming!

[@whatslaps]

getting the worms

[@nathanwinter5050]

@ got a suggestion for you my man! Might not appeal to all but as a new NBA fan I think a video summing up every NBA team would be sick! Little bit of history, what to expect, legends of the roster, current top players etc!

[@lordfridge491]

Tanking is not a sports thing. It's an American thing.

[@whatslaps]

That's true

[@AlexMartin-yv1lb]

Hoop Collective and Whatslaps to drown out the Monday morning blues

[@whatslaps]

Good company to be in

[@TubOfSun]

This tanking video was better than the last

[@konzza]

So you'd say he tanked the last video about tanking? 😆

[@whatslaps]

Last one was brutal

[@ConnorFriedman-dv6ks]

I think I would have rather Alex Caruso left the bulls for nothing than trade him for Josh Giddey

[@oakarin]

Another banger

[@jdrmanmusiqking]

Tanking doesnt make sense anymore as the draft isnt nearly as important. There is so much more talent in the league than there ever was so developing the talent ya already have is more important Great deals are found later and later in the draft in addition to the rise in overseas talent so tanking for the chance of one savior just isnt it anymore

[@swagsterpt2]

I’m ngl I think tanking is significantly based on timing, like the magic chose to ship out their guys at the best time and for the nuggets pick this is a deep draft so it worked out anyways even though they’re a solid team But if they did it for like 2019 or 2024 we’d be talking about the magic like we do about the jazz

[@soramoose]

If the nba got rid of the system they have in place now for the number one pick, what would you replace it with? I think it could be fun to see the teams outside the playoffs have a single game round robin series of games and from that reward the top teams with the best odds to get the number one pick. reward these middle of the pack team with a piece to get out that spot.

[@DonSMDT]

I mean they got trade assets for him sure but I'm still not sure the Ayton max contract was worth it for the Suns

[@ezrais]

If bad teams had any ability to recognize, develop, or retain talent then they wouldn’t be in the lottery in the first place. And if you’re openly losing on purpose, I’m openly not watching you. We can catch up (or not) in three or five years, but only if I haven’t found anything more fun to do by then.

[@whatslaps]

That's true. The heat have proved it doesn't matter where you pick

[@staidenofanarchy]

Man Mr Slaps got a luscious mane going Maybe it's NBAbolline?

[@whatslaps]

Maybe he's born with it 💁🏼

[@genuinebrendan]

I feel like you ignored the big Asterix next to Josh Giddy on why he got traded

[@Kocall-d8s]

Let's be real- Jerami Grant is overpaid

[@whatslaps]

A little yeah

[@Kocall-d8s]

@@whatslaps more like alottle

[@Kocall-d8s]

@@whatslaps bros getting paid 30 mil to shoot sub 40% from the field with mid defence on a trash ass team And to add to that he's only going for 14 a game- FOH

[@fbiopenup6534]

Tanking can be useful, unless you're the 76ers lol

[@warwolf88]

Tanking is a crapshoot you will either tank at the right time and come out of it the better for it or worse off

[@technicallythecenteroftheu1349]

You've explained the salary cap before, but do you think you could do a video on how trades work. What the hell is a mid-level exception?

[@titaninsane]

He's explained them in older videos.

[@pringlescan81]

This might be the most divisive topic but who do you feel is the most vanilla player in the league? I’m talking a guy that has mid stats on meh minutes and kinda bleh personality. Like he’s just kinda there but just barely.

[@whatslaps]

Maybe maxi kleber or Clint capella

[@KingoftheWRLD11]

W vid

[@whatslaps]

W com

[@zerevv]

I thought tanking came from gaming term as in taking damages on purpose for the team I like tanking it gives my team easy win

[@cheeseomega3930]

Great video as always. I think tanking can be difficult to accept because success is not guaranteed, as it just guarantees just better player (on paper). The process will go down as the best example on why teams need more than tanking. Also, people tend to forget that mistakes made by teams can take years to correct, even the "smaller ones". I have a video suggestion: the importance or role of assistant coaches. I recently learned that Kenny Atkinson was fundamental in te development of some players that either contributed to a championship (Jeff Teague) or got paid (Dillo). I can also think of Chuck Person's influence on Kobe's shooting. Honestly, I think only hardcore fans could pay attention to that because of the amount of personnel involved in each team.

[@whatslaps]

I would love a video on this. it just sucks there isn't enough information or b roll to make a decent video from. Same goes for the topic of scouting.

[@cheeseomega3930]

@@whatslaps That's kind of annoying, because it's fundamental. Maybe it's so mundane to them that it's not worth to report on it, but I wouldn't be surprised if they keep it out of the public sphere on purpose,. Maybe the topic can be researched by brute force, like correlating wikipedia articles with recordings and news articles, but that's easier said than done.

[@johnlarson505]

I challenge your claim that the Magic are currently better than the Pistons. The Pistons are playing good basketball this year. Thanks for making content

[@nocapillary]

Magic have two number 1 options already. They are definitely ahead of the pistons

[@johnlarson505]

@ they have almost identical records. The Pistons are even slightly ahead.

[@andygonzalez3293]

Bro paulo and franz were injured for a long amount of time and their records are still basically identical. You just gave yourself the answer

[@johnlarson505]

@ injuries are a part of the game. I just like the Pistons outlook. Hopefully they’re both playing meaningful basketball in the playoffs for the next few years.

[@inacionogueira5136]

Tanking as a term could come from games like overwatch when a player (team) "tanks" a bunch of damage (losing games) so they win the game (win a championship later)

[@fennecfreind]

Tanking in this video’s sense definitely predates video game “tank” archetypes

[@whatslaps]

that's gotta be it.

[@inacionogueira5136]

@@fennecfreind yeah but i only thought about that after posting

[@RubenDari]

tank=sink?

[@whatslaps]

In that case it would be submarine right?

[@GoldenNUGGETS55]

Goat

[@chris7one]

Dude your one of my fav youtubers your vids are fire, also can you make some nba 2k or just any gaming vids, i would watch them 100%

[@whatslaps]

Thanks man! Unfortunately I don't even own a GameCube anymore 😞

[@KrisCantu]

I always thought the term "tanking" meant like an empty tank of gas lol

[@whatslaps]

it might. I have no idea.

[@PotatoPicker808]

P Giddy!

[@BetabetSoup]

How does a video about the dominant west conference and the lackluster east conference

[@whatslaps]

East is coming up though right?

[@idkkkkkkkk_]

goat

[@jamesnelson8249]

nice shampoo choise

[@whatslaps]

I usually omit the choice entirely.

[@averywealthyman4194]

The constant non-stop whacky sound effects make your videos unwatchable for me, Which is disappointing cause ur content is Decent just the gimmicky bs is annoying as hell I don’t see why u think that is necessary or improves the watching experience at all, can’t watch u anymore

[@whatslaps]

Godspeed 🫡

[@Tristanisthebest]

Abolish the draft already, destroy the need for tanking.

[@matt.mahogany]

What’s the alternative then?

[@Tristanisthebest]

@matt.mahogany free agency. The draft only exists to control players and artificially lower their value.

[@Theburkr]

@@Tristanisthebest So only the big markets get the best rookies then? I can't see that being a problem at all...

[@Tristanisthebest]

@Theburkr if a big market team wants to risk it's future on unproven rookies go right ahead. There's only fifteen roster spots on a team. A "big market" team could try and sign 3 or 4 top rookies but they would probably have to overpay and if one or two of them bust that could easily cripple a team. Let the free market do it's thing.

[@Theburkr]

@@Tristanisthebest the “free market” isn’t actually free or fair. There’s a reason literally no pro sports teams manage their new players this way, it would be a disaster.