Writer thinks Sixers should go “Black Sox”

by Eric Schwartz

Monday February 8, 2010 

Writer thinks Sixers should go “Black Sox” thumbnail

One of the worst moments in the history of professional sports took place in 1919 when eight members of the Chicago White Sox decided to tank the World to collect a gambling bet and stick it to then-owner Charles Comisey.

Everything about it was dirty: From firs baseman Arnold Gandil getting the wheels turning by convincing gambling figures that a series could be fixed, to the seven teammates who joined him in handing the title to the Reds.

Just thinking about it makes me sick.

This brings us to today’s column in the Inquire by Stephen A. Smith.
Smith is brash, loud and often annoying, but he does know the NBA and the Sxiers in particular. Whether you love or hate his style it is hard not to appreciate his knowledge.

On Monday, however, he slipped into lunacy.

With the Sixers playing their best basketball of the season and on a four-game winning streak, Smith suggested that the team should stop trying to win games and tank the season. While many fans feel that the Sixers would do more harm than good by winnings some games down the stretch and fighting for a bottom playoff spot, few have gone as far as Smith, who wrote:

“What matters most now is where the Sixers go from here. Knowing Stefanski, he’ll swear they’re about making “basketball decisions,” not financial ones. Well, here’s one:

Tank the season. Stop wasting folks’ time trying to win what amounts to meaningless games.

The Sixers need to emulate San Antonio (Tim Duncan), Cleveland (LeBron James), Miami (Dwyane Wade), Toronto (Chris Bosh) – teams that once did everything they could to position themselves for a top draft pick just to get their hands on a franchise-caliber player.”

Even if the Sixers were to “tank the season” as Smith puts it, what would that guarantee them? The NBA lottery a weighted system that gives the worst teams the best chance of landing the No. 1 pick. With four wins, the Nets are virtually a lock to have the most ping pong balls in the wheel.

Even they are guaranteed nothing.

The Sixers need to shake things up and that may mean getting rid of players such as Andre Iguodola and Samuel Dalembert. Any moves the Sixers make could bring back talent or picks that could help the team down the line. There could even be some addition by subtracting after the Feb. 18 trade deadline.

These are things that Sixers fans to cling to for hope.

Tanking the season is not.

Filed Under Sixers

Comments

Got something to say?