If they kept Baron Davis, they would obviously use the amnesty cut this season... Furthermore, they would have drafted Irving #1 overall... Ouch.
I think the lottery is rigged, I had a feeling the Cavs would get the 1st pick, if only to set up a Lebron v. Cavs playoff 1st round in 2013 and because it's a feel good story.
Young prospects can be traded for good veterans and pieces. If the Clippers kept their pick, they would have had the first pick that they could use to trade for much, much more than Moon and Williams. We're talking huge leverage to trade for Paul, Howard and pretty much any good player out there. Then again, it's hypothetical.
Hindsight is everything. But in all honesty, the lottery is most likely rigged, and the Clippers wouldn't have gotten the 1st pick again. The Cavs were gonna get that pick no matter what, and it makes it funnier that it was the Clippers pick.
But if they dont pan out they're useless. Al Thornton, Korolev, Olowakandi...this team doesnt draft well (Blake Griffin and Gordon aside)
The Cavs probably would have done the deal anyway if the Clippers simply added a #1 pick protection - maybe they tried and were denied, but hard to believe that the Cavs would have turned down the deal if the Clippers protected the #1 pick.
If you are assuming that they finish in the exact same position they did with or without the trade. They won 32, Bucks won 35, Bobcats won 34, Pistons won 30, Warriors won 36. If they don't make the trade they could have ended up somewhere else in the lottery.
I doubt even if they had Baron Davis, they would have amnesty cut him. Do you really think Sterling would pay for someone who doesn't play for him?
It's not too infeasible. Look at the way the balls have rolled recently. Washington, big city with a ****ty team, gets John Wall instead of New Jersey. Chicago had horrible odds, but yet still were able to win the number one pick and have their hometown hero lead them back to the promised land.
In fairness to the Clippers, placing ANY protection on the pick was nearly impossible, due to the Ted Stepien rule. The Clippers owe a future protected first rounder to Boston (via OKC) in the Eric Bledsoe trade. The fact that the pick is protected makes protecting any other pick in trades very difficult (without it becoming a really crappy pick that the other team wouldn't want nearly as much). The Rockets may face this same problem going forward with the pick obligation owed to the Nets from the T-Will trade.
