Tanking is way overrated as a topic. The Bucks last year had the worst record, not because they were tanking, but because they just stunk. They have a similar team this year, and are playing quite well. This year's race to the bottom has four teams: knicks, 76ers, Lakers, and Wolves. Of those four, really only one is tanking. The Knicks just stink. The Lakers aren't much better. Both of those teams have injured stars who are the two highest paid players in the game. The Wolves have struggled because they're young, but they've also been without their best player (this year, not the long run) in Rubio for most of the season. But if they'd been tanking as a strategy, there's no way they'd have traded a decent 1st round pick (from Miami) for Thad Young.
The lottery in itself punishes the tankers. If this were football, the team with the worst record would get the first pick, and not merely a 25% chance at the first pick. If they want to remove the protection of how far you can fall in the draft, and thus make it a lottery for every spot, that could be interesting, but it might encourage tanking more (because the more lottery balls you have the less far you are likely to fall. It actually hurts the 6-10 range more than anyone else potentially). Sam Hinkie is abusing the system, but until he puts together a winning team, I can't say he broke the system. 5 years out, if the 6ers still stink, I can't imagine many owners saying "yes, let's do this."