NBA Lottery tonight...

[Implied Volatility]

So Cleveland landed the #1 spot with the pick they received from the Clippers in the Baron Davis trade. Which was projected to be the #8 pick, and only had a 2.8% chance of landing the top spot?

Doesn't sound rigged at all...

[Stroupe-a-loop]

Can someone please explain to me why the league wants Cleveland to be good? I mean it seems like there has been a worldwide conspiracy to keep Cleveland down for the past 50 years or so. It feels like there is a narrative every year for the team with the first overall pick because writers are paid to makeup narratives. The year Rose got picked by Chicago, Beasley was considered to be the consensus overall pick by many and probably would have been the pick for many other teams.

[Swarly]

Can someone please explain to me why the league wants Cleveland to be good? I mean it seems like there has been a worldwide conspiracy to keep Cleveland down for the past 50 years or so. It feels like there is a narrative every year for the team with the first overall pick because writers are paid to makeup narratives. The year Rose got picked by Chicago, Beasley was considered to be the consensus overall pick by many and probably would have been the pick for many other teams.

Cleveland was #3 in attendance last year(ie it's a better spot than Minnesota or Sacramento). After they got publicly poo on by LeBrick last year it's a feel-good story that the media will LOVE.

They need to get rid of the lottery bullpoo and let records decide who picks first. Stern can't rig that like he does everything else so he wouldn't like that :cool:

[Stroupe-a-loop]

Cleveland was #3 in attendance last year(ie it's a better spot than Minnesota or Sacramento). After they got publicly poo on by LeBrick last year it's a feel-good story that the media will LOVE.

They need to get rid of the lottery bullpoo and let records decide who picks first. Stern can't rig that like he does everything else so he wouldn't like that :cool:

If they were rigging it, why wouldn't they just make the Cleveland pick with the higher probability the winner? I guess they're just super evil and wanting to slap it into people's faces. If you think it's rigged, why would you even bother watching the league?

[Swarly]

If they were rigging it, why wouldn't they just make the Cleveland pick with the higher probability the winner? I guess they're just super evil and wanting to slap it into people's faces. If you think it's rigged, why would you even bother watching the league?

Because I'm a huge sports fan and am trying to give it a chance. I watch games between big market teams where it's less likely to be fixed.

[DaCityKats]

It's just becoming a huge joke. NBA just needs to contract all of the perennially bad teams instead of letting them sit in mediocrity year after year with no chance at that #1 pick.

NBA is the worst run league in sports, period.

its been a joke. i still think lebron going to cleveland was rigged....and yeah its the worst ran league.

[Implied Volatility]

If they were rigging it, why wouldn't they just make the Cleveland pick with the higher probability the winner? I guess they're just super evil and wanting to slap it into people's faces. If you think it's rigged, why would you even bother watching the league?

I don't think the games are rigged. Though the refs seem to influence the games more than they should at times.

But there have been a few times in recent memory were I believe the lottery may have been rigged/influenced. Including last night. Look at how the media is running away with this story about the owner's son giving them good luck. And it being a "feel good" story after LeBron's Decision. Please...

[Its The Milk]

I mean as far as I'm concerned the worst team in the league having a 75% chance of NOT getting the first pick, is pretty damn lame.

[Stroupe-a-loop]

I wouldn't be shocked if the poo was rigged. D-Rose going to Chicago, Lebron going to Cleveland, etc are kind of red flags.

and if you've noticed the first pick always goes to a team who doesn't have a star on it so everyone gets some buzz on their team. But you'd think it'd go to us eventually.

First off, I'm not picking on CCS just quoting one of a couple posts. Love you with all my heart.

I love this revisionist history where we all remember that Derrick Rose was the consensus number one overall pick when Chicago got him. Cleveland was tied for the worst record in the league the year they got James. It's just people looking back and pulling out a few random examples as proof.

Why does no one point to the year where the Trailblazers won with a 5% chance? It would have been a great opportunity for the league to give Boston a franchise player and revitalize that market. Why does nobody bring up San Antonio winning twice? We all know the NBA wants to turn that team into a dynasty. It just doesn't hold up that the commissioner is just picking the order to benefit the league.

I mean just really spell out what you are saying the league is doing: they are risking alienating a huge percentage of their fanbase and calling into question their entire history to give the Cavs a guy who might be the 4th or 5th best PG in the eastern conference. If that's true, David Stern has the overly complex machinations of a bored bond villain.