NBA Draft 2012: 10 Teams That Should Start Tanking Now

How do you win by losing in the NBA?

When you improve your lottery odds.

The way the NBA draft lottery is set up, if you're not contending for a championship, what incentive do you have other than the integrity of the game to try to win basketball games?

Teams are essentially rewarded for losing.

If you're not contending for a title, why not be as bad as you can be and improve your chances of getting a franchise-changing player?

Just like Ricky Bobby said, "If you're not first, you're last," so be last.

Anthony Davis is the prize of this year's lottery, and all teams would love the chance to draft him. And their best shot at getting him or any of the other top three players in this draft is by tanking the rest of their games.

Here are the 10 teams that would be better served losing games—if they haven't been trying already—leaving out the Charlotte Bobcats, who have been tanking games since David Stern announced that the NBA lockout was over.

1. Washington Wizards

If you do need to take one step back in order to take two steps forward, then John Wall is right on pace to take it to the next level next season.

After a promising rookie campaign, it's been a roller coaster season for John Wall. Now combine that with the antics of JaVale McGee and Andray Blatche, and you have an 11-win Wizards team that is lottery bound.

Things could be looking up next season, as they traded away a headache (McGee) for a badly needed veteran presence in Nene.

Now, if they keep playing their young talent in Jordan Crawford, Chris Singleton and Jan Vesely while limiting Nene's minutes, even if they don't try to tank, they shouldn't have a problem securing a top pick next year and building on what they have.

2. Golden State Warriors

Heading into this season the Warriors had playoffs on their mind.

Three months in, not so much.

They traded away their best player for someone who won't be ready until next season, and now with the playoffs out of the question, they can get their draft pick back that is owed to the Utah Jazz if they finish with the seventh worst record or lower.

If any team were going to consciously try to lose games on purpose, wouldn't they be the first team on the list?

What incentive other than the players on the floor giving it their all would warrant them to want to try to win games when they are going to be rewarded by losing?

The Warriors have no cap room for next season, which leaves the draft as their best chance on acquiring an impact player, which can be achieved by tanking.

3. Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks have been playing good basketball since they acquired Monta Ellis and now find themselves just two games out of a playoff spot.

So why would they start tanking?

If they beat out the New York Knicks for the last playoff spot they will have to face the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat in the first round. What realistic chance do they have of taking down the Bulls or the Heat in a seven-game series?

As of right now the Bucks would have a 1.1 percent chance of landing the top pick, which is probably better odds than the ones of them beating either of those two teams in the first round. So why not try to improve those and hope to land into the top three of the lottery?

4. New Jersey Nets

I get what they were trying to do.

Missing out on Dwight Howard, the Nets panicked and traded a top-three protected lottery pick for Gerald Wallace in hopes that he and a healthy Brook Lopez would garner enough wins to entice Deron Williams to stay.

Not exactly working out as they planned.

Now their best bet is to get the best possible odds at getting a top-three pick, retaining Wallace and Lopez and maybe, just maybe that would be enough for Williams to want to open up the new arena in Brooklyn.

For the rest of the season the more they lose, the better chance (if any) that Williams re-signs.

5. New Orleans Hornets

You can argue that the Hornets play as hard as anyone in the NBA night in and out. They just don't have the talent to win.

Coach Monty Williams has done a tremendous job under the circumstances, but other than trying to save his job, he would be better served losing and improving the Hornets' odds of getting a top pick.

As bad as their roster is in terms of talent right now, if they can get Davis in the draft, re-sign Kaman and a healthy Eric Gordon and make good use of the draft pick acquired in the Chris Paul trade, the Hornets could be back on the NBA map sooner rather than later.

They just need to quit trying so hard.

6. Toronto Raptors

In June, the Raptors drafted a center that they knew would not be available until the next season, giving an indication that this season just might not be their season.

Well, they were right.

At 16-34, any other wins from here on out just pushes them further away from landing a top pick, so why not get Andrea Bargnani and DeMar DeRozan, who now has an ankle injury, rested for next year and position themselves for a better draft pick?

They have a nice back-court in Jose Calderon and DeRozan, a fringe All-Star caliber player in Bargnani and this year's draft pick in Jonas Valanciunas coming next year. If they can put themselves into position to get Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist or Thomas Robinson—who would be a great fit here—maybe they can turn things around in the Air Canada Centre.

7. Cleveland Cavaliers

Look what tanking can do for you.

Well, last season they didn't so much tank as they...just weren't any good, but can you blame them after having LeBron James walk while getting nothing in return?

They knew that they were a bad team last year as they traded away their best player (by default) in Mo Williams by taking on a monstrous contract in Baron Davis and getting what turned out to be the No. 1 overall draft pick.

Now they have two franchise building blocks in Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson, and if they start tanking games, they can add another franchise-changing player like Irving looks like he is becoming.

Tanking last year worked for them, so why not try it again? It looks like another team took notice of what transpired last year...

8. Portland Trail Blazers

This team is not hiding their feelings about the rest of their season.

While still in contention for a playoff spot, they traded away their starting center, a semi-premiere small forward, and they fired their coach.

Smart move.

They knew they weren't going to really compete as constructed, so they cut costs and are going to rebuild through the draft. They are really embracing the "be as bad as you can be" philosophy, and if it turns out well for them by tanking, David Stern is going to have to look at fixing the current lottery system.

9. Sacramento Kings

It looks like they finally found their coach and someone who DeMarcus Cousins is willing to play for in Keith Smart. So they got that going for them, which is nice. It's a start, but that's about all they really have going for them.

The definitely have talent on this team with Cousins, Tyreke Evans and Marcus Thornton, but the problem with that core of players is that they all need to the ball to be productive.

With no one on this team really willing to pass the ball, they are losing enough games on their own, but it wouldn't hurt to forgo the rest of the season. They would be better served to get in position to get a top pick and landing someone who doesn't need the ball to be productive.

Anthony Davis or Michael Kidd-Gilchrist would look great in a Kings uniform, and the more they lose the better the chances they get of seeing either of those two in Sacramento next season.

10. Detroit Pistons

Yet another team that would be better served tanking games the rest of this season.

If all these teams actually do start tanking games, we are headed for some poor basketball, even by a lockout shortened, play-three-games-in-three-nights standard.

The Pistons have building blocks in Brandon Knight and Greg Monroe, but they—just like everyone else on this list—would be best served tanking in hopes of landing a top pick.

For the integrity of the game, you'd hate to see any team tank, but with the way things are set up, could you blame them?