It is the most misused word in the NBA dictionary, carrying connotations that are totally unfair given how roster building works in the NBA.
Tanking does not mean players intentionally miss shots, turn the ball over, or play matador defense.
(For the Lakers, those things all happen naturally -! Hi-yo) NBA players do not throw games, and coaches do not coach specifically to lose.
A) they're competitive, and B) they're all trying to get paid.
Tanking, as it actually happens, is simply an equation in which the value of future victories outweigh today
That's it. From there, how teams respond is a matter of degree. Philly is executing their "tank" with festivity, drinking hurricanes and asking the draft lottery to show its bosom.
The Lakers, meanwhile, have juxtaposed asset-building moves like the Jeremy Lin trade with faux-competitive pointlessness (Carlos Boozer off amnesty waivers) all while hoarding superstar level cap space like doomsday types do canned green beans.

When the Lakers said at the start of the season they believed, with a little luck, they might compete for a playoff spot, they were not kidding.
That is not meant to be comforting.
Finally, though, there are signs the Lakers genuinely understand what's up.
Down the stretch of a tight game Friday in Orlando, the Lakers finished with Jordan Clarkson, Ryan Kelly, and Robert Sacre on the floor, along with Wes Johnson and Wayne Ellington, leaving Boozer, Lin, Nick Young, and Ed Davis on the bench .
More than a few people, if my Twitter feed is any indication, saw that as evidence Byron Scott, under the steely gaze of Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss, was trying to lose. Well ... sort of.
When factoring in both sides of the ball, the Lakers are not necessarily worse with the guys they played. Boozer is a terrible defender, and Lin has been a net negative this season (they're no better offensively, and worse defensively).
Over the course of the season, Young has a better statistical profile. Over the course of 2015, including Friday night and continuing into Sunday's loss in Cleveland, Young has been a tire fire. Sacre's on / off numbers show some defensive impact, as do Ellington's . Meanwhile, Kelly was having his best game of the season.