Thunder show blatant hypocrisy with their selfish actions toward the Jazz

The Utah Jazz have been blatantly tanking to the point that the NBA is straight-up inventing ways to punish them for it. If one team understands where Utah is coming from, it's the Oklahoma City Thunder, who also tanked to put themselves in the position they are in now. Yet, apparently, it's the Thunder who have been pulling the strings to ruin Utah's tank.

The Athletic's Tony Jones, who used to cover the Jazz, singled out the Thunder during his appearance on KSL Sports' "Scotty G and Friends."

"And I'll tell you what it is. It's Oklahoma City going through back channels to try to put pressure on the Jazz to play the season out in order for them to get the pick. That's what it is."

To be fair, the Thunder aren't doing this *just because.* They are doing this because they want the pick that the Jazz owe them. If Utah's pick falls out of the top-right, it goes to the Thunder because of the unintentionally infamous Derrick Favors trade.

For all intents and purposes, it makes sense for OKC to do this, but that does not refute the point that tanking benefited them too, and it factored into why they are the reigning NBA Champions.

OKC would not be where they are without tanking

The primary reason the Thunder are NBA champions is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who they acquired fair and square, full stop. However, it's one thing to have a franchise centerpiece, and it's another to build the right team around him. Don't believe that? Just look at the Milwaukee Bucks' current situation with Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The Thunder didn't even know SGA would be as good as he is now, but they knew he was a promising young player who could be a major part of their next playoff contender. The only way to build around him correctly was to tank, which is exactly what they did (though they did it the year after acquiring him).

To ensure they would get a high pick, they benched SGA for multiple stretches because they feared how many games they would win because of just how good he was (does this sound familiar, Jazz fans?). They even went as far as benching Al Horford with half a season to go because he was good enough, by himself, to keep them from being one of the NBA's worst teams when he was on the floor in 2021.

This strategy got them Chet Holmgren, one of the league's best young centers, and Josh Giddey, who flopped but OKC later turned him into Alex Caruso, a massive gamechanger for them. It's fair to say that tanking played a huge part in getting them to where they are.

So now, they've turned around and tried to dissuade the Jazz from doing the same thing? They have their reasons, of course, but the Jazz are executing the same strategy as the Thunder, and it's pretty easy to see why. It isn't just about protecting their pick, but building the best future possible.

Sam Presti and co. can try their absolute hardest to get that pick, but odds are against them no matter what punishment comes Utah's way from now until April, and it exposes their inarguable hypocrisy for doing the same thing.