They don’t do themselves any favors by conducting the unbiased and completely above board lottery in private, prior announcing the order an hour later on TV.
San Antonio's market is the entire European continent. Wemby picked the Spurs and he got what he wanted. Lebron going to Cleveland, Luka being traded to the Lakers for nothing. The refs rigging games for GSW and Lakers. The NBA is corrupt, why would they exclude the lottery from their criminality. The NBA is a profit sharing enterprise more-so then any other league. The owners, all of them, make more money when the West and East Coast teams are relevant. If Washington gets Flagg, I'll say maybe the lottery isn't rigged. If Dallas gets him, its rigged for sure.
Come on. You are too smart to believe it was in either Wemby's or the NBA's best interest to send him to freaking San Antonio. And, like any conspiracy, no one ever explains how it is done with independent observers, a Big 5 accounting firm running it (each of those firms is massively larger than the NBA and has a LOT to lose) and why every other owner who desperately wants Wemby doesn't complain or leak. And you believe that LeBron to Cleveland - the place he bolted as soon as he could for a big market - is a sign of conspiracy ... in a year the Knicks were in the lottery? And how about Yao - the league loves Houston so much that they gave us all of China? You can’t say it is fixed for LeBron and Wemby on either side and not say it was fixed for Yao. It's patently absurd, and more than a little stubborn to say "maybe" you'll consider it not rigged if, for the fourth time, a top coastal team doesn't get the big star (LeBron, Yao, Wemby, now Flagg). If the league wants to boost LA, they would give Wemby or Flagg to LA ... not go through some convoluted 'you trade him and we'll reward you'. Please be logical.
They used to do it live, and people b****ed then also. They are observed by representatives for every team and a big 5 accounting firm. There are not 32 people highly invested in the outcome with personal stakes in the process who agree to manipulating it, and keep it quiet for years.
I'm not taking sides, but steering LeBron to Cleveland (near his hometown, an NBA backwater otherwise) and Wemby to San Antonio (tradition of Euro stars, an NBA backwater otherwise) would actually be of great interest to the league.
Do you believe that refs are directed by the NBA to show favoritism? Is it just the lottery they are honest about? Have you seen the disparity in FT attempts of the Lakers to everyone else? How come Dallas would only work with LA for Doncic when they could have gotten 5 picks and stars for him from any number of teams? How come the league nixed the Gasol trade, but allowed the Doncic trade to go through? If you don’t think sports gambling is influencing the NBA’s veracity, I have a bridge in Brooklyn for you.
In today's political climate, I will be truly shocked if Flagg ends up in Toronto. I'm more likely to believe he falls to Philly or New Orleans. The odds are super low for the Texas teams. If they land this pick, the conspiracy theorists will come out of the woodwork. Brooklyn and Portland are immediately relevant if they go to #1.
I forgot about Brooklyn they are probably in the mix being a NY team. I think Flagg will go back to Duke, if he doesn’t like the lottery winner. I will say we are witnessing an incredible amount of generational players entering the NBA over the last couple of years. Even guys like Risacher are looking pretty damn good.
Anthony Davis and Lebron James met each while Davis was with the Pelicans in the regular season, and lo and beyond AD became a Laker. Weren't the odds changed when the Lakers got the 4th pick? The refs hardly give calls against GS and LAL in the regular season and even less in the playoffs.
All the NBA has to do is show the lottery process live. It's that simple. There wouldn't be any conspiracies about it being rigged it they did that.
You're providing good for thought, but.... 1) I agree with your first point with the Lakers: the more successful the Lakers are = better TV ratings which is more money for the NBA (big business) 2) Doncic was dealing with a new Owner of the Mavs who made a business move to not pay him $70M per year when he's eligible for a contract extension...that would've eat up majority of their salary cap. Looking at the landscape of available superstars who have an immediate impact on the game, what other teams you think would've traded for Luka that has a greater impact than AD? This season, he was the best player on the Lakers playing both sides of the ball. 3) When the Lakers made the trade for CP3, the NBA owned the Pelicans and were trying to find an owner...in good business, why would you trade your best asset when you're to entice a buyer to get optimal return.
We used to actually see the ping pong balls live, I don't know why they stopped doing it that way and switched to the envelopes.
not really. I mean it is great for Cleveland, but Cleveland is a small market. Nobody outside Cleveland is happy Lebron ended up in Cleveland. It is in the NBA's main interest to send stars to big markets like LA or NYC. I am pretty sure Tim Duncan is better than Kobe but Kobe is no 1 for a lot of people. Why? Cuz Kobe is in LA. If Yao Ming was drafted by New York I am sure NBA would be in every Chinese household by now. Why nobody says anything about Cade going to Pistons or Zion going to Pelicans? These are much hyped players who went to poverty franchises. Rox picked top 3 for 4 straight years I guess Fertita is in the NBA illuminati or something? lol.
Anyway going back to the topic the more I look at Rasheer Fleming the more I think he is the guy. Maluach is 7-2 with a 7-5 wingspan, but Fleming is rumored to be 6'9 with a 7-4 wingspan. That is pretty insane and reminiscent of Jalen Williams who was 6'5 but with a 7-2 wingspan. Dude can shoot 3s, jump out of the gate and takes defense personally. After 3 yrs of development he is a lot mature than other rookies and is their team captain. Jatari will be up for extension next year, we need guys who can do what they do just in case negotiations break down. I think Fleming is a top 10 talent in this class and Rox should pick him up if Maluach is already off the board.
I don't recall seeing the actual ping pong balls as I didn't care enough about it back then. That said, that doesn't sound like as good of a show as they currently do. Ping pong balls start at pick 1 which would destroy the drama most drafts. Announce 1st 4 picks and everyone can figure out the rest. Current way has drama in giving out information much more slowly.
I really doubt the actual lottery process is TV friendly. But they wouldn’t even have to show it live, just post a “live to tape” version of how it all went down on their YouTube channel after the streamlined televised event.
