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Grantland: Nets Tanking? Nope!

By Net Income
March 31, 2012; Sacramento, CA, USA; New Jersey Nets guard Deron Williams (8) is introduced before the start of the game against the Sacramento Kings at the Power Balance Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-US PRESSWIRE
March 31, 2012; Sacramento, CA, USA; New Jersey Nets guard Deron Williams (8) is introduced before the start of the game against the Sacramento Kings at the Power Balance Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-US PRESSWIRE

Writing for Grantland, Jay Caspian King looks into what teams at the bottom of league standings are tanking and what teams are not. King concludes that although no team needs Anthony Davis more than the Nets ("they need at least one marketable star to present to their new fans"), there's no evidence the soon-to-be Brooklyn Nets are looking to lose.

King also uses his "verdict" in the Nets' section of his story to lay out an argument against tanking. "Unless you're getting Anthony Davis, you might as well play with a modicum of competitive spirit. There's no real difference between, say, the fourth pick and the ninth pick in this year's draft." Bottom line for the Nets? "For a team with every incentive to shelve Deron Williams and tank, the Nets played competitively down the stretch."

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