
Tanking’s Mirage: Knicks Should Embrace Smart Drafting and Trades
Tanking is a false promise; history shows championships come from savvy drafting and trades rather than losing to improve lottery odds. None of the last 20 Finals MVPs was drafted in the top four, and in the past six years players like SGA, Jaylen Brown, Jokic, Curry, Giannis—and even LeBron James via free agency—have demonstrated that elite teams win through smart acquisitions and development, not tanking. The Thunder’s tanking approach under Sam Presti is a notable outlier. For the Knicks, the takeaway is clear: avoid chasing losses and focus on smart drafting and trades instead.


