Is it now time for the Portland Trail Blazers to tank?

The Portland Trail Blazers are somehow still in the race for the eight seed, thanks to a stumble by the team ahead of them, the Memphis Grizzlies.

Damian Lillard is likely set to return from a groin injury sometime in the next week, and buzz is growing over the potential début of Jusuf Nurkic following a devastating leg injury 11 months ago. Combined with an easier schedule than the Grizzlies or the New Orleans Pelicans, there remains a decent chance this Portland Trail Blazers team puts together a run to claim the final playoff spot.

But should they?

As Portland has struggled this season, amidst a wave of injuries and chemistry issues with a massive roster overhaul, there have been plenty of people who have suggested the team should emphasize development of their young players, accept losing, and claim a lottery pick enroute to reloading for 2020-2021.

It’s a compelling argument. After all, Portland could arguably be a much better team next season, even if they let Hassan Whiteside walk and don’t bring back Carmelo Anthony. Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins will be back, theoretically at full strength. The ceiling for Anfernee Simons remains incredibly high. Gary Trent Jr. has given Portland much more than anyone expected coming into the season, and optimists can hope a full off-season of NBA-style training leads to improvements for Nassir Little heading into next year as well.

Add in a lottery pick, a couple veteran free agent signings, and a dash of Olshey optimism, and there’s every reason to believe Portland could bounce back from a ‘tanking’ season, and be back in the hunt next year.

But here’s the thing: tanking rarely ever works out.

People will inevitably cite Philadelphia and “the process” as an example of tanking that worked out, but even there you can point to a long list of high draft picks over a decade of futility that didn’t pan out. Markelle Fultz, Jahlil Okafor, Elfrid Payton, just to name a few. Even the ones that have worked out, Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, took a long time to pay off after suffering a rash of injuries early in their careers.

Even now, with all the talent on its roster, Philadelphia has struggled to reach the upper echelon of teams… in the eastern conference.

Other teams that have tanked in recent years include New York, Phoenix, Atlanta, Washington, and Cleveland.

Go ahead and look up the record of those teams so far this season. I’ll wait.

I’m sure there are cases you can make for each of those teams as to why they’ve struggled to put things together despite consistently picking high in the draft the past few years. I’d venture to say that a culture of losing is harder to turn around than just bringing in a few talented players. GMs and coaches who are fine with losing in the name of playing the lottery likely aren’t the kind who can flip the switch and become winners overnight.

Lastly, you just know tanking isn’t in the lexicon of people like Lillard, CJ McCollum, or Terry Stotts. In their mind the plan is to get healthy, get into the playoffs, and then shock the world by becoming only the sixth eighth seed in NBA history to upset a top seed.

Winners want to win, even if the analytics say losing might be better. That’s where I think people who advocate tanking get it wrong. You want winners on your team. Winners bounce back. They figure out what isn’t working, and they don’t rest until it’s fixed.

They ignore the lure of potential, in pursuit of the impossible.

Winners win, even when they lose.