Lakeshow

[oneinchpunch]

We need a new system of deciding the first pick though... Cleveland shouldn't win it 3 times in 4 years.

Ridiculous.

They obviously need it. Draft Embiid and sign LeBron and they could be one of the better teams for years

[Coachmarkos]

We need a new system of deciding the first pick though... Cleveland shouldn't win it 3 times in 4 years.

Ridiculous.

[Mister Hoarse]

Bucks Owner's daughter was pretty hot...

[oneinchpunch]

LeBron should go back to Cleveland

[Mister Hoarse]

That Lottery special may have been the lamest thing ever produced on ESPN.
The graphic on the left showed the entire order of picks in advance of the "suspence building" announcements. WTF?

[sandiego17]

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.c...percent-fixed/


2014 NBA lottery is 100 percent fixed. Probably. Sort of.

Adam Silver’s NBA is no better than David Stern’s. The lottery is still fixed.


Two years ago – before the lottery – I wrote:

The NBA no longer owns the Hornets, but is still committed to keeping them in New Orleans. With their arena improvements needing approval of the state legislature in July, the Hornets could ride the Anthony Davis buzz and ensure there are no hitches. The league spent a year-and-a-half trying to sell the team without finding a buyer, so maybe Tom Benson needed a No. 1 pick thrown in the deal. David Stern has also meddled in the Hornets’ business before, in the Chris Paul trade. Davis would help Eric Gordon, and therefore Stern’s reputation, because Stern was the one who handpicked Gordon for the Hornets rather than taking the Lakers’ offer.

Of course, the Hornets got the No. 1 pick. It was so obvious.

And then last year, again before the lottery:

Stern desperately wants to create a Cavaliers-Heat rivalry to boost rankings, and to do so, he must make the Cavaliers better. Dan Gilbert remained loyal during the lockout, and especially after LeBron became the worst example of players seizing control from teams, Stern will reward Gilbert with a second No. 1 pick.

Yup, Cleveland got the No. 1 pick. Saw that coming.

Isn’t it always convenient how the most-obvious team wins the lottery? That happening proves it’s fixed. If it were truly random, a team other than the one you know the league wants to win would at least sometimes get the No. 1 pick. But that literally never happens.

Ya, the league wanted New Orleans and Cleveland to win the lottery, Orlando twice and sterling a bunch of times. Sure. Conspiracy nuts are pretty much always the same, regardless of the topic. Need a reminder about the number of titles the Knicks amassed after the "fix" to land Ewing.

[Coachmarkos]

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.c...percent-fixed/


2014 NBA lottery is 100 percent fixed. Probably. Sort of.

Adam Silver’s NBA is no better than David Stern’s. The lottery is still fixed.


Two years ago – before the lottery – I wrote:

The NBA no longer owns the Hornets, but is still committed to keeping them in New Orleans. With their arena improvements needing approval of the state legislature in July, the Hornets could ride the Anthony Davis buzz and ensure there are no hitches. The league spent a year-and-a-half trying to sell the team without finding a buyer, so maybe Tom Benson needed a No. 1 pick thrown in the deal. David Stern has also meddled in the Hornets’ business before, in the Chris Paul trade. Davis would help Eric Gordon, and therefore Stern’s reputation, because Stern was the one who handpicked Gordon for the Hornets rather than taking the Lakers’ offer.

Of course, the Hornets got the No. 1 pick. It was so obvious.

And then last year, again before the lottery:

Stern desperately wants to create a Cavaliers-Heat rivalry to boost rankings, and to do so, he must make the Cavaliers better. Dan Gilbert remained loyal during the lockout, and especially after LeBron became the worst example of players seizing control from teams, Stern will reward Gilbert with a second No. 1 pick.

Yup, Cleveland got the No. 1 pick. Saw that coming.

Isn’t it always convenient how the most-obvious team wins the lottery? That happening proves it’s fixed. If it were truly random, a team other than the one you know the league wants to win would at least sometimes get the No. 1 pick. But that literally never happens.

I'm not buying it. Olawakandi? The Clippers won the lottery 3 times, and the Lakers haven't picked higher than 10th since 1982.

Draft order isn't as big a deal in the NBA...unless you are getting LeBron or Tim Duncan or (possibly) Anthony Davis.

I hate the lottery system. I always liked Simmons idea of the "Entertaining as Hell Tournament"...with all the lottery teams in a single elimination tournament.

I'd do it a little different...but how about the "winner" of the tournament gets the top pick, and 2nd gets 2nd pick...and then you go by record for 3rd 4th etc...

[oneinchpunch]

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/05/20/2014-nba-lottery-is-100-percent-fixed/

2014 NBA lottery is 100 percent fixed. Probably. Sort of.

Adam Silver’s NBA is no better than David Stern’s. The lottery is still fixed.


Two years ago – before the lottery – I wrote:

The NBA no longer owns the Hornets, but is still committed to keeping them in New Orleans. With their arena improvements needing approval of the state legislature in July, the Hornets could ride the Anthony Davis buzz and ensure there are no hitches. The league spent a year-and-a-half trying to sell the team without finding a buyer, so maybe Tom Benson needed a No. 1 pick thrown in the deal. David Stern has also meddled in the Hornets’ business before, in the Chris Paul trade. Davis would help Eric Gordon, and therefore Stern’s reputation, because Stern was the one who handpicked Gordon for the Hornets rather than taking the Lakers’ offer.

Of course, the Hornets got the No. 1 pick. It was so obvious.

And then last year, again before the lottery:

Stern desperately wants to create a Cavaliers-Heat rivalry to boost rankings, and to do so, he must make the Cavaliers better. Dan Gilbert remained loyal during the lockout, and especially after LeBron became the worst example of players seizing control from teams, Stern will reward Gilbert with a second No. 1 pick.

Yup, Cleveland got the No. 1 pick. Saw that coming.

Isn’t it always convenient how the most-obvious team wins the lottery? That happening proves it’s fixed. If it were truly random, a team other than the one you know the league wants to win would at least sometimes get the No. 1 pick. But that literally never happens.

[Coachmarkos]

Picking 6th in this draft kind of sucks.

It would be great to slip into the top 3. You are right, the Lakers can not get 4th or 5th pick.

Top 5 are Wiggins, Parker, Embiid, Randle, and Exem. So the Lakers probably at best will get Vonleh or Smart.

I'm never big on 6'9" PF/C's...they always seem to struggle in the NBA...why is why I'm not that high on Randle... and Smart, while athletic and a good player, isn't a game changer.

[sandiego17]

I think Wiggins and Parker go 1-2, not sure Embiid goes top-3 anymore, but he won't drop to 6 or lower, which is where the Lakers will be if they don't win the lottery. I think the best case scenario outside winning the lottery is the one you describe, Exum, but not sure he will be available. I wouldn't mind Smart, I do like his competitiveness and he's obviously talented. That being said, I think they try to trade the pick if they don't end up getting lucky. "FIX!"

[Coachmarkos]

You have to figure top 3 picks will be gone: Wiggins, Parker, Embiid...

So you are looking at some sort of order of: Exum, Randle, Vonleh, Smart...maybe one of the other foreign players sneaks in there.

I'd like to see Exum fall to the Lakers... although he's a bit more of a gamble...more upside than Randle or Smart for sure.

If they could draft Exum (who could split time with Nash), the pieces could fall into place. But it's pretty important to have a good PG, unless you have one of the top 5 players in the league. (and sometimes if you do) Plus, it would be good for Exum to learn from Nash how to be a professional.

[Coachmarkos]

Not worth it.

Doesn't matter, it would be Veto-ed by the League Appointed president anyway. Sound Familiar?