I’ve always approached the value of things from a baseball perspective. That’s just how I’m wired. The Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros taught us a couple of very key lessons. Essentially, they took the Ricky Bobby rule (you are either first or last) and drove it to its logical conclusion. They tanked by reducing their payrolls to a mere pittance. It not only saved money but brought high end draft picks in consecutive seasons.
The concept is pretty simple. Why spend decent money to win 75 games in a 162 game season? 75 wins doesn’t even get you within ten games of the playoffs.