Tanking is a dirty word in the NBA, but as we've seen in previous seasons, some teams play for the future, not the present.
Our 5-on-5 team debates whether the Lakers, Heat, Mavericks and other teams should be focused on the draft, not the playoffs.
1. Better focus for the Lakers this season: Playoffs or draft?
Amin Elhassan, ESPN Insider: They should stand pat. This season is already a rousing success in the sense that this team finally has a sense of direction and an identity. The Lakers' young assets are developing every day, and their young coach, Luke Walton, is sharpening his own skill set as well. There's no need to rush the process for a playoff push but also no need to sabotage what's happening right now (absent a knockout deal offered).
Kevin Arnovitz, ESPN.com: Playoffs, largely because the Lakers will likely forfeit their first-round pick to the Sixers this season. The once-frisky Lakers have cratered in recent weeks, but this season has never been about the win-loss column. For the first time in years, the team has the opportunity to build a structure from the ground up with a young, charismatic coach who has a pedigree: build good habits; develop the young talent; create a system where that talent can thrive in good spots.
Tim MacMahon, ESPN.com: They can't tank for the top-three pick. They can't do that to Walton, a first-year coach trying to establish a winning culture with a glamour franchise that has lost its way in recent years. If the Lakers can unload one of the awful contracts they signed in free agency this past summer, by all means, do it. But the development of their kid lottery picks has to be the priority, and that means trying to teach D'Angelo Russell & Co. how to win.
Jeremias Engelmann, ESPN Insider: With the Lakers having lost 12 of their past 13, I don't think they have much choice but to focus on the draft. The Lakers' pick is top-three-protected now, then will become unprotected in 2018. Given that this seems to be a good draft, and that some of the young Lakers will have made big strides by next season, I think it makes sense to try to finish with the fewest wins possible to have a better chance of keeping their 2017 pick.
Kevin Pelton, ESPN Insider: Draft, although the real focus for them should have less to do with either and more to do with the development of that young core. On that count, it clearly has been a success even as their record has fallen to Earth. The biggest question I see for them is whether to consider moving Lou Williams at the peak of his value.
2. Better focus for the Heat this season: Playoffs or draft?
Arnovitz: Draft, because the talent isn't there and it's time to turn back the clock. The Heat organization saw the writing on the wall during the 2007-08 season and unceremoniously lost 67 games. Michael Beasley was a bust at No. 2 that summer, but a top-eight pick in a deep 2017 draft class might not be. It's time to get off Goran Dragic's money, presuming they can get some value, hoard some assets and have something to show the next wave of top-tier free agents.
Pelton: Draft. Given the depth of the field vying for playoff spots in the East, the Heat are a major long shot. And because Miami doesn't have its 2018 first-round pick, this is the year to add to a decent core of young talent. Even though cap space no longer looks as valuable with the changes to the collective bargaining agreement, I'd still favor trading Dragic if there's strong interest.
Engelmann: I don't see the Heat making the playoffs no matter what moves they swing. They owe an unprotected 2018 first-rounder to Phoenix. If the Heat want to get better through the draft, it'll have to happen this summer.
MacMahon: The Heat's rebuilding process began the moment Pat Riley decided that Dwyane Wade was no longer a priority. Shop Dragic, who should be one of the most valuable chips in the trade market. Hassan Whiteside is a huge talent, but he's not a guy you want as the face of the franchise. Get that guy with an early lottery pick in a loaded draft.
Elhassan: Because Miami owes its 2018 first-round pick, this is the logical year to go all-in on a tank job, not that the team is that far off as is. The argument can be made that the dearth of tradable options outside of Dragic and Whiteside combined with the fact that the Heat are only two games ahead of (behind?) the worst record means that they can probably just stand pat and be awful anyway, but history tells us that when Riley tanks, he doesn't shortcut the process. (In 2007-08, the Heat became a glorified D-League team.)
3. Better focus for the Mavs this season: Playoffs or draft?
MacMahon: Yes, Mark Cuban, we know you don't care what we think. You're not interested in our advice to admit that this is a lost season and maximize your odds of drafting a legitimate NBA player in the first round for the first time in a decade. The Mavs -- and especially Dirk Nowitzki -- want to fight for a playoff spot, regardless of the odds. They should still trade Andrew Bogut, who has much more value to good teams than he does for the Mavs, especially if Nowitzki will be playing a lot of center.
Elhassan: Mr. Cuban, tear down this team. The Mavs should have been bereft of hope when the season started, and although Dirk's injuries early didn't help, his return hasn't exactly soothed what ails Dallas. The Mavs have a couple of pieces who can aid teams making playoff pushes and are in desperate need of bona fide blue-chip talent, particularly at point guard, a position that figures to be deep in the draft in June.
Engelmann: I think Cuban was serious when he proclaimed that the Mavs won't tank this season. Because I want to see Nowitzki play one last playoff series, and because the currently eighth-seeded Kings wouldn't be especially tough to catch, I'm OK with this course of action. Also, the Mavs might have the second-most cap space next summer and thus probably won't have to build through the draft.
Pelton: Draft. The Mavericks have played well enough lately -- and the West's battle for eighth is weak enough -- that a playoff run is now conceivable. But to what end? It's hard to see a path to anything but the eighth seed, which would likely mean a short series against Golden State. Dallas would be better served adding a rare lottery pick.
Arnovitz: Do you really have to ask? The Mavericks have tried valiantly to land a topflight free agent over the past several seasons but have failed. Now it's time to take advantage of the league's incentive structure, which rewards maximum suckitude. Dallas is only a game and a half out of the NBA's cellar, which bodes well for lottery night. With a good result then, the Mavs would have a legitimate chance to replace an outgoing Hall of Famer with an incoming one.
4. Better focus for the Pelicans this season: Playoffs or draft?
MacMahon: What does Anthony Davis want? That should be the biggest influence on every decision the Pelicans' front office makes. He's in the first season of a five-year contract extension, but it shouldn't shock anybody if whispers about him wanting a trade start if the Pelicans' losing continues. His patience has to be wearing thin, but the best bet to build a contender in New Orleans is to find a legitimate co-star in the lottery.
Pelton: Playoffs. As useful as another lottery pick might be to a roster starved of top-tier talent outside of Davis, I still think the Pelicans could use the optimism a playoff run would generate. The designated veteran rule in the new collective bargaining agreement means Davis probably will extend his contract or re-sign, but New Orleans still shouldn't test that. Better to convince Davis he can win with the Pelicans.
Elhassan: How about this? Take a look at this roster and tell me how you propose to make it competitive enough to make it past April 12, because I sure don't know how. At this point, the Pelicans' front office should be spending most of its time on draft prep.
Engelmann: Draft, under the condition that the Pelicans start listening to their analytics department. I'm pretty sure not one statistical draft model advised drafting Buddy Hield as high as sixth. As it currently stands, Hield ranks in the bottom 1 percent of every advanced player metric while being one of the oldest players in his draft class.
Arnovitz: Playoffs. The Pels have some leapfrogging to do just to earn the right to be bludgeoned by Golden State, starting on Easter weekend. But the buzzards are circling above a franchise that desperately needs to show its once-in-a-generation talent that it has the slightest clue as to how to a build a winner around him.
5. Which other team has a decision to make on whether to focus on the playoffs or draft?
Elhassan: Today, Sacramento sits in the eighth-seed slot, the latest in the season it has been in playoff position since DeMarcus Cousins joined the franchise. There will be those deluded into thinking this team has a shot to finish the year among the top eight, but we've all seen this motion picture unfold before. Get a head start on that dismantling, Sactown.
MacMahon: The Kings have a legitimate chance to end an 11-year playoff drought. They should go for it. The new CBA makes it easy to stick to their guns and not listen to offers for DeMarcus Cousins. The question is whether they should get an asset for Rudy Gay, who clearly won't return to Sacramento next season. But they're better off trying to give Boogie his first taste of the playoffs.
Arnovitz: The Atlanta Hawks. A delightful, pass-happy, 60-win team has now pushed all its chips into the middle of the table with a bet on the Dennis Schroder-Dwight Howard two-man game. Paul Millsap (who will turn 32 in February) is likely on his way out this summer. Kyle Korver and Thabo Sefolosha are both linchpins of the Hawks' culture, but they will be 36 and 33, respectively, this summer. Kent Bazemore has pressed to justify his big summer contract but hasn't found his game. If the Hawks want to retain Mike Muscala and Tim Hardaway, they'll have to pay them. Taurean Prince is promising, but the Hawks need more -- and will have to perform some reconstructive surgery to their roster to get it.
Engelmann: The Pacers and Wizards seem to be stuck in no-man's-land, with rosters don't feature extraordinarily good, young players. Focusing on the draft and doing a mini-reboot might prove beneficial for the long-term success of the two franchises.
Pelton: The Hawks. FiveThirtyEight's projections have the Hawks at nearly 50-50 to make the playoffs. In their case, the choice is less "playoffs or draft" and more "playoffs or start rebuilding" by trading impending free agents Korver and Millsap. Now is too early to seriously consider dealing them, but if Atlanta slumps over the next two months, it could swing the pendulum toward a rebuild.