Tanking is losing on purpose over a stretch of a season to get a better draft pick, usually by resting or trading away good players.
HoopSim limits it. The lottery is flat enough that the worst record has a 31.5% chance at the first pick and could drop to fourth. You cannot park a healthy player from your regular rotation (your top 8 by minutes and contract) on the Inactive list: the move is blocked, and if a parked player climbs into your top 8 the league reactivates them before the next sim and tells you. A healthy player left Inactive is furious, which hurts morale and chemistry. Playing time drives development, so sitting young players slows their growth. Trading veterans for picks is fair game, and the league's media will say what it thinks.
Rulebook: No stashing healthy players. Related: draft lottery, rebuild.