Hoops Habit
Fansided

Where the Memphis Grizzlies stand in the tank race

By Tony East

BROOKLYN, NY - JUNE 23: Wade Baldwin IV shakes hands with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver after being selected number seventeen overall by the Memphis Grizzlies during the 2016 NBA Draft on June 23, 2015 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler /NBAE via Getty Images)
BROOKLYN, NY - JUNE 23: Wade Baldwin IV shakes hands with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver after being selected number seventeen overall by the Memphis Grizzlies during the 2016 NBA Draft on June 23, 2015 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler /NBAE via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

With just 11 games left in the regular season, the Memphis Grizzlies are pushing hard for the best odds in the 2018 NBA Draft Lottery.

The Memphis Grizzlies currently stand at 19-52. If they won every single one of their remaining games, they would end up with just 30 wins. Barring a miracle, Grind City will not win all 11 games left and thus they will end up under the big 3-0 in terms of wins.

The last time that happened to Memphis, Marc Gasol was a rookie. He is 33 years old now.

The Grizzlies’ current win percentage, 26.7 percent, translates to a 22-win team. The last time the Grizz won that few games, they finished with a bad enough record to be able to draft Mike Conley.

A brief summation: tanking has worked for Memphis. They have been in the 40s and 50s in wins every season since Gasol’s rookie campaign, and that is due to their solid drafting in their years as a bottom-feeder in the league.

Now, with Gasol aging and Conley injured, the front office appears to be taking another stab at the whole tanking thing. With almost 90 percent of the season completed, Memphis is just half a game out of the worst record in the league, playing one less game than the Phoenix Suns. If they lose Thursday night against the Charlotte Hornets, they’ll drop back to a tie for the worst record with the Suns with only 10 games to go.

There are many reasons that the Grizzlies would likely push for the top spot in the draft lottery, and the same reasons are why monitoring the tank race is so important to fans of the team. The first one is that this draft is supposedly top-heavy, with the top seven or so players looking like they could be franchise-altering talents. The lower the Grizzlies finish in the standings, the higher the chance is that they end up with one of these guys. That should entice the front office to tank as much as anything.

More from Memphis Grizzlies

The second reason is that the draft lottery system changes next season. This year, if the Grizzlies end up with the highest lottery odds, the worst pick they could end up with is the fourth overall selection.

Next season, not only does that number drop to six, but the chance of getting into the top five increases for all lottery teams. Basically, tanking will be less useful starting next season. Doing it well this season could guarantee the front office a great draft pick one last time before more uncertain times roll in.

The final reason is far and away the most important. The Memphis Grizzlies do not own a 2019 first round pick. In 2015, management decided to trade a 2015 second round pick and a 2019 first round pick up to acquire Jeff Green (!) to boost the team’s playoff chances.

The move was nearsighted, as now the Grizz don’t have a first round pick in 2019, which would be a crucial asset as they begin a rebuild. The pick is protected 1-8, so there is a chance they still end up with it, but if they lose it, it makes drafting an important future piece that much more important in the 2018 NBA Draft.

So, there are a million reasons the Memphis Grizzlies should tank. They need a contributor now. They need to set themselves up for a solid future. Some moves they made in the past will make accomplishing those goals very hard without tanking the rest of the season.

Next: 2017-18 Week 23 NBA Power Rankings

Given that the team currently sits with the second-worst record in the league, and a full two games worse than the third-worst record, there is reason to believe they could end up with the No. 1 or No. 2 pick. How this squad finishes out the year will be crucial to the future of the organization.

Home/Memphis Grizzlies