If the Rockets win a top 3 pick in the draft, what should they do with it?

To say that team is a mess id definitely an understatement. I totally agree with you on that aspect. A lot of things would have to change to turn that organization around, but I guess winning the lotto would be a good start.


You think there is a possibility that the Lottery is well, for a lack of a better word, rigged?

My reason include the Lottery happening behind closed doors and having all these feel good stories that are just seem too ridiculous to concoct. For instance:

1) Bulls end up with #1 pick, hometown hero Derrick Rose
2) Cavs get Akron's favorite son LeBron James
3) Cavs lose James end up with #1 pick the following year
Etc....


I don't think it's entirely out of the question to think that the NBA would use the lottery to help struggling franchises. It makes business sense for the league as a whole. For these reasons, I think that the 3 teams that have the highest probability of landing the top 3 picks are:


1. Nets- They failed to obtain Dwight Howard, which leaves a Deron Williams exit all the more likely. However,t he franchise is moving to a new city and new arena and what better way to usher in the new Nets then granting them a Top 3 pick that will keep Williams in a Nets uniform. While it may have seen shortsighted for the team to trade their lottery pick for Gerald Wallace, maybe there was an agreement in place that would guarantee the Nets a Top 3 pick, which would essentially give the Nets Williams+Wallace+Star Caliber player to be names+ Lopez to build upon.


2. Hornets- The Hornets will end up with a top 3 pick simply due to the fact that the team is being sold and needs a young core to be build around. This is the only way the league saves some face and justify the Rockets deal being slighted for the Clippers deal.


3. Bobcats- Embarrassing mess. Not only do they lack talent and any semblance of a future, Charlotte isn't exactly the most desirable location for FA's and star caliber players. Nobody in their right mind would pay to see that garbage on the floor every night. The Theory of Probability states that Michael Jordan will eventually get one of these top picks right. You can only suck so much for so long before your franchise folds. Giving them a top 3 pick is the only conceivable plan at the moment for having this franchise exist as it is.

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I think it is totally out of the question.

Do you guys ever ask yourself what would such tampering mean?

It would remove every single shred of credibility the league has and would be a potential cause for its disbandment. Imagine what would the surfacing of such information cause amongst the owners and the general public. All those years spent as a bottom dweller, hopping for a chance to finally rebuild, only to find out that everything was in vain, a deceitful lie, carefully put into place by a totalitarian puppet master, doing as he pleases when he pleases. I would sue the NBA until there would be no NBA, and others would be right behind me. More importantly, the public would lose faith in any kind of organized basketball union / organization and professional basketball in the USA would stall to a holt. Then it would have the potential to escalate into a general mistrust of all the organized sport and even a widely spread political problem.

Just one little slip-up like that would ruin everything the league has spent decades building - a reputable, marketable, profitable, international league with a bright future. Why in the world would they risk it?

They wouldn't. They'd rather enjoy the financial benefits of the massive international commercial machine they've created and made damn sure that even the slightest sign of a tampering rumor is instantly bashed to dust, let alone premit such actual act.

 

I'm not so sure. You see all sorts of fishy behavior in the real world today. You got your Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, ENRON, BP, etc, etc. I don't think it's out of the question to think that an entity like the NBA would conduct itself a more appropriate way. It's a business.

As for the issue of tampering, it's something that is brought up quite a bit in professional sports. When Tim Donaghy got caught for "tampering", there were a bunch of questions being asked at the time. What do you call David Stern's block of the Rockets trade for Gasol? That was one of the most blatant forms of "tampering" I've ever seen in the history of the game. The NBA chose for "BUSINESS REASONS" to block the Rockets trade and to go with the Clippers deal.

 

Wow! This thread started out good, now i'm depressed.

 

As a fan, I really enjoy the NBA and the product that they put on the court. However, I'm also aware of the fact that the NBA is a business first. There are been many larger entities in the past and present that have done more than there fair share of questionable things. I think you would have to be naive to believe that everything that goes on behind closed doors is all candy and roses.

If the NBA were to be accused of tampering, it certainly wouldn't be the first time. You see teams that doing whatever they can to gain a competitive advantage. This is a business. **** happens. I'm sure if Enron didn't have to cook the books, they wouldn't. It's not out of the question to think that the league would do everything necessary for it to succeed given the current economic climate.

When owners "audition" for the chance to purchase respective teams, I'm pretty sure they are given the 411 on all the inner-workings of the league as a whole. In other words, the league makes sure you (the owner) knows what you are getting yourself into. If the league was all candy and roses, why not just hold the lottery drawing LIVE, if you've got nothing to hide? I'm sure there would be a ton of people (myself included) interested in seeing the drawings live. Instead, they happen behind "closed doors". Those are the facts.

 

I think it's not very likely. A massive cover up known by nobody but the owners would be impossible to maintain long term. ***** would hit the fan sooner or later.

And I don't think that the trade was serious tampering. I wasn't terribly excited, but I understood why could Stern had such power over a team that was owned by the league itself.

 

So let me get this straight:

We've been riding the lame train to Mediocreville for three years because Les doesn't believe in being terrible to get a top pick.

Then we luck into a top pick and give it away for a rental?

 

Obviously, I don't think that the league goes out of it's way to rig the results of games and who wins championships, but they certainly have the power to influence outcomes. For instance, they can select different officials to ref different games, which canhelp to influence the outcome of a particular game.

From a business perspective, it makes sense for the league to protect all of their teams. To the league, each of these teams is an asset. With the league trying to sell the Hornets, it made perfect "business" sense to deal with the Clippers instead of the Rockets. The owner was going to get a young cornerstone franchise to build around and they don't inherit any "bad contracts" (i.e. Martin and Scola) going forward giving the owner and management flexibility to build going forward. The Rockets were able to offer the Hornets a chance to "swim in mediocrity", whereas the talent given up by the Clippers (aside from Gordon) left more to be desired than anything--BUT it made economic sense. When David Stern told Demps that he as a GM could not execute the trade with the Rockets, that was pretty foul in my book. That raised a whole bunch of questions about how the league conducts business behind closed doors.

 

Yeah, I agree, it made the most economic sense, but it also made the most sense from the competitive standpoint, in my opinion. The only thing that matters is the championship. Either you're good enough that you're a legitimate competitor or bad enough to stockpile young assets, slowly gathering experience, developing young players and building towards being elite. Everything in between is pointless to me personally. They were going nowhere with the Rockets package and if I would be in place of Stern, I'd say no too. But I understand how you might see it as foul play.

 

Totally agree man. Especially, the bolded section.

Had these quotes posted in an earlier thread:

"I guess my point is, if the Rockets are going to use a team as a measuring stick for success, you have to use the best teams in the league. There isn't a point in being the next Grizzlies or the next Pacers, when you have the Thunder and the Heat with their trios of top-shelf talent. The Rockets need to create a blueprint that will be able to compete with the Thunder and the Heat and not sell themselves short."



"You can pretty much group the 76ers, Magic, and Hawks into this very special group. Good enough to make the playoffs, but everybody knows they'll be going fishing sooner or later.

All of these teams are examples of front offices over-committing to 2nd tier stars in hopes of building a championship contender. You avoid all band-aid solutions at all costs and you go "all-in" on TOP-SHELF talent. This means NO to Danny Granger, Joe Johnson, Rashard Lewis, and Andre Igoudala UNLESS you've got your Batman. "

 

make a strawberry banana milk with it!

 

Yeah, that's my sentiment too. The Rockets should reevaluate their strategy regarding that, imo. They have very very small chances of success with their current policy.

 

If the Rockets miraculously land one of the Top 3 picks outside of #1, they should probably try to shop that pick. Outside of Anthony Davis, there really aren't any sure things in this year's draft. Tons of players with "upside" and potential, but as somebody had pointed out earlier, it more than likely means they underperformed at the collegiate level.

It'd be great if we could get proven, young cornerstone talent (Harden, Gordon) in return for the pick or else trade down for multiple picks (Hornets or Trailblazers picks) because I think there is a pretty big drop off after Anthony Davis and you can pretty much group the players (Beal, Drummond, Jones, etc) slated to go next in the same tier. Potential? Sure. Proven? Hardly.

 

Dance a jig.

 

take a look at Gilchrist.... Robinson?

 

Duhnce duhnce duhnce duhnce duhnce duhnce duhnce...

 

draft Drummond and be happy

 

i want them to mauryball it. send the top 3 pick to the rio grande valley! and then surprisingly an undrafted rookie will take his spot on the rockets with his tenacious defense and sexy looks.

 

Either Number 1 overall pick, or trade it

We dont need MKG, and their is no STRONG consensus #2

 

take brad beal and call it a day