With the NBA draft lottery a little more than a month away and two prized prodigies — Texas forward Kevin Durant and Ohio State center Greg Oden — likely to be among those eligible this year, talk has inevitably shifted to the art of “tanking.” This where teams lose games on purpose to assure themselves better position in the lottery, and thus better odds of getting a franchise savior such as Durant or Oden.

In my estimation, that angle has been dramatically overplayed. The institution of the lottery, and the subsequent changes that have been made to the format since, assure that any team dropping games on purpose gives itself only a marginally improved chance of getting the big payoff in May. In the vast majority of cases, it’s simply not worth the trouble.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of other teams who have more incentive to lose than win in the coming weeks. The draft isn’t the only piece of the NBA format that produces what economists call “perverse incentives” — the incentive to go against what would normally be perceived as one’s best interest.

Take trades, for instance. As a matter of course, teams normally include “lottery protection” when dealing away a first-round draft choice, specifying that they only owe the choice if the pick isn’t near the top of the draft. (Of course, the Knicks are still unaware of this option, but that’s another story.)

Sometimes, this gives teams motivation to alter their position in the standings in such a way that they can avoid owing the draft pick. The Minnesota Timberwolves are a good example. They owe a pick to the Clippers as part of the disastrous Sam Cassell-for-Marko Jaric deal in 2005, but it was top-10 protected last season.

So when it came down to the wire and the T’wolves were in danger of owing the choice to the Clips, they went into tank mode. Minnesota shut down Kevin Garnett and Ricky Davis with dubious injuries, and lost a season-ending game to Memphis by allowing Mark Madsen to attempt seven 3-pointers in crunch time. Mission accomplished: Minnesota kept the pick and, after swapping spots with Portland, selected guard Randy Foye.

This year, Minnesota is in a similar position. The pick is still top-10 protected, and entering yesterday’s games Minnesota was tied with New York for the 10th position. Since even a no. 10 finish doesn’t guarantee a top-10 pick — it’s possible a team behind them in the queue could snare one of the top three spots in the lottery — the T’wolves still have some work to do.

Fortunately, the T’wolves’ next five opponents (Toronto, Dallas, San Antonio, Golden State, and Denver) are more than capable of beating them silly without any extra shenanigans, so we may avoid a repeat of the disgrace that ended last season. But unfortunately, this same situation could persist for years — the pick is top-10 protected through 2011, and the T’wolves may be just as bad throughout that time period.

The Atlanta Hawks are another team with great incentive to lose. Unlike other lottery hopefuls that are merely hoping to end up with a top-three pick instead of, say, no. 5, for the Hawks tanking could mean the difference between a top-three pick and none at all.

The Hawks owe a pick to the Suns from the Joe Johnson signand-trade that is only top-three protected, which means they have to get lucky in the lottery and grab one of the top three choices. Right now they’re in the no. 4 spot, but they can improve their odds if they make up the game and a half that separates them from no. 3 Milwaukee.

Perhaps an even greater incentive to tank comes with playoff matchups. Consider last season, when the Clippers and Grizzlies met in the final week of the season with the West’s no. 5 seed on the line. The Clips essentially lost on purpose — they started Vin Baker, for crying out loud — and their reward was a winnable first round matchup against Denver and, very nearly, a run to the conference finals. Meanwhile, Memphis was blown away in four games by Dallas. So much for rewarding the victors.

The NBA has improved its seeding system because of last year’s mockery, but perverse incentives remain. For instance, as I pointed out on Friday, the Bulls will be more than happy to lose to the Nets in the season’s final game if it means they can get a first-round pairing against the decimated Wizards.

There’s more from where that came from. In the West, the Suns have a two-game lead on San Antonio for the no. 2 seed. If they can wrap it up with a few games left, look for the Lakers and Nuggets — currently locked in a battle for no. 6 — to fall all over themselves to lose and drop into the no. 7 slot. Both teams match up much better with the Suns and would like their odds much better in that matchup than in facing the three-time champion Spurs. In fact, the Lakers can grease the skids by dropping their game in Phoenix on Friday — both helping Phoenix lock up no. 2 and helping themselves closer to clinching no. 7.

And if you’re really into tanking scenarios, consider Dallas’s game against Utah on Friday. The Mavs have the top seed and home court advantage locked up, so they’re just playing for yucks at this point. But they really don’t want to face Houston in the second round — the Rockets match up extremely well against them when healthy and nearly upset the Mavs in the first round two years ago.

Lo and behold, the Jazz are locked in as the Rockets’ firstround opponent, and the two are in a virtual dead-heat in the standings. So wouldn’t it be funny if the Mavs just happened to play their subs against Utah on Friday and allowed Utah to get a win they may need to secure home-court against Houston?

Of course, not every tanking scenario is practical. Take the Pacers, for instance. They owe a draft pick to Atlanta that, like Minnesota’s, is top-10 protected. But right now Indiana is no. 12 in the draft hierarchy, and moreover the Pacers entered yesterday’s play just a game out of the East’s final playoff spot. It isn’t reasonable for them to tank the rest of their games and kiss a playoff spot goodbye, especially since it still might not get the draft pick back for them.

Still, the lesson remains. Despite improvements to both the lottery format and the playoff seeding system, the end of the NBA season remains rife with situations where it’s in a team’s greater interest to lose than it is to win. And in most cases, Kevin Durant and Greg Oden have nothing to do with it.

jhollinger@nysun.com