Contrived crappiness has become an NBA norm. The league’s lottery system gives transitioning teams incentive to be even worse, while delusions of free-agency grandeur compel some franchises to hoard salary cap space — often to the detriment of trying to win now.

Call it what you will — tanking, extreme rebuilding, win-eschewing, superstar-gazing, pingpong-ball worshiping — it doesn’t really matter. The reality is that the Association has become home to some really bad teams that have not only accepted, but embraced their losing ways. The triggers behind designed demise seldom are deliberate. Calculated sucking is usually preceded by a series of bad decisions or unforeseen misfortunes.

Teams like the Celtics, whose controlled demolition has come on their own terms, are a rarity. None of the NBA’s four worst squads has traversed the same territory. So, how did Minnesota, New York, Philadelphia, and the Los Angeles Lakers, end up as NBA bottom-fodder? And, more importantly, what does the future look like for these teams?

Scroll onward at your own risk.

MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES (7–36)

How They Got Here: David Kahn

(AP)

Turning Point: So many things have gone wrong for the Timberwolves over the last decade, so where to begin? Their downswing began long before they traded Kevin Garnett (2007), and they’ve yet to recover, but Kahn’s four-year reign as president (2009–13) stands out more than anything. More than recurrent injuries to key players (Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio, etc.), more than Love’s unofficial role on defense (Inert Bystander), more than Flip Saunders’ decision to hand Nikola Pekvoic the five-year deal Minnesota’s previous regime wouldn’t give Love.

Kahn’s draft-day resume really says it all, though. Let’s review:

In 2009, the Timberwolves passed on Stephen Curry not once, but twice. Instead of selecting the superstardom-bound Curry, they rolled with Rubio and Jonny Flynn at No. 5 and 6, respectively. Kahn’s alleged reasoning on this front remains laughable; Dave Wohl, a former lead assistant for the Timberwolves, told Grantland’s Jonathan Abrams in 2013 that Kahn wanted to play Rubio and Flynn together because they reminded him “of [Walt] Frazier and [Earl] Monroe.” Obviously.

That same draft, the Timberwolves picked up Ty Lawson, another point guard, at No. 18. As it turns out, Kahn wasn’t trying to beat the 2014–15 Suns to the point guard party. He shipped Lawson to the Nuggets in exchange for a future first-rounder, which turned into … Luke Babbitt. Meanwhile, Flynn hasn’t played in the NBA since 2011–12, and Lawson has appeared in more than twice as many regular-season games (382) as Rubio (185).

In 2010, the Timberwolves rolled with Wesley Johnson at No. 4, passing on DeMarcus Cousins, Greg Monroe, Gordon Hayward and Paul George. When they picked up Babbitt at No. 16, both Eric Bledsoe and Avery Bradley were available. Babbitt later was shipped to Portland for Martell Webster. They would then send the No. 23 pick (Trevor Booker) to the Wizards for the No. 30 (Lazar Hayward) and No. 35 (Nemanja Bjelica) picks. Hayward flamed out of the NBA by 2013, while Bjelica has yet to come stateside.

Kahn’s 2011 draft was another disasterpiece. He took Derrick Williams at No. 2, when Kemba Walker, Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard and Nikola Vucevic ended up going much later. He also sent Flynn and the No. 20 selection (Donatas Motiejunas) to the Rockets in a deal that netted the No. 23 (Nikola Mirotic) and No. 38 (Chandler Parsons) picks, a 2013 first-rounder and Brad Miller. Kahn sold Parsons back to Houston and flipped Mirotic’s rights to the Bulls for No. 28 (Norris Cole) and No. 43 (Malcolm Lee). He then shipped Cole to the Heat for a second-rounder, cash and the No. 31 pick (Bojan Bogdanovic), which he traded to the Nets for another second-rounder and cash. To sum up, instead of turning Flynn and Motiejunas into Mirotic, Parsons and a first-rounder, Kahn snared Lee, Miller, a first-rounder (Andre Roberson), two more second-rounders and cash.

The 2012 debacle is only partly on Kahn. Seven years earlier, Minnesota had sent Sam Cassell and its unprotected 2012 first-round pick to the Clippers. L.A. eventually unloaded said pick (Austin Rivers) to New Orleans as part of the Chris Paul deal. The Timberwolves did own the Jazz’ No. 18 pick as payment from the Al Jefferson trade, but they dealt it to the Rockets for Chase Budinger. Houston went on to select Terrence Jones.

Mercifully, Kahn was not allowed to ruin Minnesota’s 2013 draft. He was dismissed in May of that year, after the team had amassed a league-worst 89–223 record with him at the helm.

We can hem and haw about how much he is to blame for Minnesota’s current situation, but it is undeniable that Kahn did virtually nothing to advance the Timberwolves’ cause with Love in tow. Now, his successor, Saunders, has very little runway to remedy an incurable situation. Minnesota has been forced to start from scratch. Again.

The Solution: Andrew Wiggins, and some other guys.

It may be hard to believe, but trading Love has, in a way, done wonders for the Timberwolves’ future. Sure, they have the league’s worst record at this writing, but that only means they’ll keep their top-12 protected pick that’s owed to Boston (via Phoenix). They also managed to restock the roster with young talent with upside in Wiggins, Anthony Bennett and Thaddeus Young in return.

Though the latter two may not figure into Minnesota’s future, Wiggins looks like a future superstar. He’s shooting under 33 percent between three and 16 feet, but he’s banging in 37 percent of his threes and averaging 20.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 steals on 46.4 percent shooting since Jan. 1.