The NBA seems to operate mostly on a theory that the worst thing that can happen is you are a bad playoff team or just miss the playoffs.
The flatening the odds would change the risk analysis. Sure, you could tank to miss the playoffs, hoping to be the 9th place team, but the gamble is HUGE because in my scenario you the 9th place team really isn't that much more likely to get the 1 pick than the last place team.