Give me some new ideas for the Lottery.

[celts60]

I would limit participation in the lottery to legitimate lottery teams only.  So, if we re-did the 2003 lottery, I would have given Detroit (a playoff contender with a lottery pick because it owned Memphis' draft choice that year) outright the 14th pick, and limited the lottery to the 13 legitimate lottery teams.  In other words, no playoff contenders can join the lottery with another team's pick.  Doesn't solve the tanking issue though.

[D Dub]

Shorten the lottery to just the 5 worst teams.  Make everyone else pick in order.

[Michael Anthony]

The four worst teams get to pick 3-6, in order, and the remaining 10 teams have an equal chance at the reamaining picks. Each team has one ball, and they are pulled in reverse order. Drama.

This ensures that the really bad team get to start building a foundation with a solid lottery pick, and that the somewhat bad teams have a real chance to make a leap. Plus, it gets former college stars into the paloffs sooner (by keeping them off the truly terrible squads), which would benefit the league.

This method eliminates tanking, period. Really bad teams will fight for the number five spot in order to have a chance at the top pick, and fringe playoff teams will not tank for a 10% chance at number one pick.

[RunningTheFloor]

2) Randomize the numbers associated with a team's chances, rather than having them go in numerical order.  I'm sure a lot of people don't know what I'm talking about, but right now, there are 1001 potential four-digit lottery combinations that can be drawn.  Sacramento had 250 chances, but those chances weren't random.  Instead, Sacramento got all of the combinations that had a "1" in them, and I believe some of the "2"s.  Why go in order like that?  With computers, it would be very easy to randomize, and would end any suggestion that by manipulating the right ball, the NBA could guarantee who got the #1 pick.

Agreed. I'm not sure why I feel this way, but I think this is the reason so many truly terrible teams are getting screwed out of their rightful picks in the top 3.

Randomizing makes no difference whatsoever in results. Randomizing only makes a difference for drama if you are watching live.
Having a 20% chance is a 20% chance, regardless.

If they wanted to show the actual process and keep the drama, randomizing would be the way to go. As balls come up, teams would be eliminated as possible winners. The only problem is that we would know the #1 pick before we know the #3 pick, and they like the drama of counting down.

Of course, none of this makes no practical difference whatsoever. It is just to appease the conspiracy theorists so that they can go back to investigating 9-11 and UFO coverups.

Here is one reason why randomizing makes a difference.  I believe that the numbers are drawn one at a time (if this is wrong...stop reading the rest of the post).  So for the sake of easy math let's say there are 1,000 combinations (as opposed to 1,001).  The team with 250 of those combinations you would think has a 25% chance of winning.  However, that's not really true when you draw one ball at a time.  Let's say you have numbers 1-250.  That means if the first ball that is draw is a 1, you have a 100% chance of winning.  If the first ball is a 2, you have a 50% chance of winning.  If the first number is not a 1 or a 2, you have no shot to win.  So wouldn't there really be a 15% chance to win, because you need a 1 to be the first number or you need a 2 to be the first number to still give you a chance. 

If you did not want to randomize numbers for teams then you should not draw one ball at a time.  The full number should be in a computer and have it randomly selected.  While there still could be a chance for fraud claims, it would at least make a 25% of winning, actually a 25% chance of winning.

[Eja117]

option 1.  Stay the same but with someone that people trust that have no stake in the issue run the thing like PriceWaterHouseCoopers or Switzerland

#2 Only the three worst teams are in the lottery and they have modestly weighted chances

#3  Each of the worst 3 teams are allowed to submit 3 names of players they want "protected" in case they don't win the lottery. Only players picked by all three teams are on the protected list. If a players slips to 4th who was on the list he still gets paid like the #1 pick. This way a team can leapfrog the worst teams and get a much better pick than they would have but they don't get the Lebrons.

[Redz]

Have the bottom 6 teams play in double elimination tournament with the worse team getting home court advantage in any match up.

Never happen.  But I like the idea of a team playing for the pick.

[KG Living Legend]

 I think the lottery is Bogus. Shady Shady Shady. Cleveland gets Lebron James Wow big Surprise. This Year Blake to L.A.

 This year also after the announcer said only one guy knows whats in the envelope. He admitted Chris Webber already knew the results. The only sport that does it this way and I don't like it.

 I think at most there should be 3 teams with a shot at the #1 pick. If you want to tank your season for a top three pick than go ahead.

 Give me some ides people anything but how it's currently constructed. TP's for good Ideas.

Does anyone else question the plausibility of the idea that the lottery would be rigged for the Clippers to win? Considering how often they are in the Lottery, they should be expected to win some. Where is the evidence that the league would want the Clippers to get help considering they are in the exact same market as the Lakers, one of the leagues most popular teams?

This defies logic.

 Guava, L.A. is the 2nd biggest city in this great country.
 
 It's money, money, money. You, or I, nor anyone else on this board knows what really goes on behind closed doors. But do you think it's possible for money to secretly change hands
 In one of the biggest Sports industry in the world???

 Yes it's possible. And most likely things so Shady happen in all Major Sports, and also all Major Business, it would make your head spin.  Tim Donagy, Kevin Mchale and the Joe Smith thing, These are just the things that are reported.

 Guava you don't know everything Neither do I. Relax. It's only an Idea.
 

[KG Living Legend]

 Quote from Lord Acton

 "Power tends to corrupt, absolute power corrupts absolutely.

 Great men are almost always bad men"

[Redz]

 I think the lottery is Bogus. Shady Shady Shady. Cleveland gets Lebron James Wow big Surprise. This Year Blake to L.A.

 This year also after the announcer said only one guy knows whats in the envelope. He admitted Chris Webber already knew the results. The only sport that does it this way and I don't like it.

 I think at most there should be 3 teams with a shot at the #1 pick. If you want to tank your season for a top three pick than go ahead.

 Give me some ides people anything but how it's currently constructed. TP's for good Ideas.

Does anyone else question the plausibility of the idea that the lottery would be rigged for the Clippers to win? Considering how often they are in the Lottery, they should be expected to win some. Where is the evidence that the league would want the Clippers to get help considering they are in the exact same market as the Lakers, one of the leagues most popular teams?

This defies logic.

 Guava, L.A. is the 2nd biggest city in this great country.
 
 It's money, money, money. You, or I, nor anyone else on this board knows what really goes on behind closed doors. But do you think it's possible for money to secretly change hands
 In one of the biggest Sports industry in the world???

 Yes it's possible. And most likely things so Shady happen in all Major Sports, and also all Major Business, it would make your head spin.  Tim Donagy, Kevin Mchale and the Joe Smith thing, These are just the things that are reported.

 Guava you don't know everything Neither do I. Relax. It's only an Idea.
 

Wouldn't Boston have made some sense for a city to "rig it" for any number of the many years we were involved?

[Roy Hobbs]

 I think the lottery is Bogus. Shady Shady Shady. Cleveland gets Lebron James Wow big Surprise. This Year Blake to L.A.

 This year also after the announcer said only one guy knows whats in the envelope. He admitted Chris Webber already knew the results. The only sport that does it this way and I don't like it.

 I think at most there should be 3 teams with a shot at the #1 pick. If you want to tank your season for a top three pick than go ahead.

 Give me some ides people anything but how it's currently constructed. TP's for good Ideas.

Does anyone else question the plausibility of the idea that the lottery would be rigged for the Clippers to win? Considering how often they are in the Lottery, they should be expected to win some. Where is the evidence that the league would want the Clippers to get help considering they are in the exact same market as the Lakers, one of the leagues most popular teams?

This defies logic.

 Guava, L.A. is the 2nd biggest city in this great country.
 
 It's money, money, money. You, or I, nor anyone else on this board knows what really goes on behind closed doors. But do you think it's possible for money to secretly change hands
 In one of the biggest Sports industry in the world???

 Yes it's possible. And most likely things so Shady happen in all Major Sports, and also all Major Business, it would make your head spin.  Tim Donagy, Kevin Mchale and the Joe Smith thing, These are just the things that are reported.

 Guava you don't know everything Neither do I. Relax. It's only an Idea.
 

Wouldn't Boston have made some sense for a city to "rig it" for any number of the many years we were involved?

If a big market wins the lottery, the conspiracy theorists say Stern's motivation is to get a star into a big market.  If a small market wins, the conspiracy theorists say Stern's motivation is to revive basketball in that market.  There's no way they can ever be wrong.

[Eja117]

Have the bottom 6 teams play in double elimination tournament with the worse team getting home court advantage in any match up.

Never happen.  But I like the idea of a team playing for the pick.

I'd think maybe the players wouldn't play well because they'd want to be the best player on the team rather than the new guy

[Redz]

Have the bottom 6 teams play in double elimination tournament with the worse team getting home court advantage in any match up.

Never happen.  But I like the idea of a team playing for the pick.

I'd think maybe the players wouldn't play well because they'd want to be the best player on the team rather than the new guy

True.

Maybe have management suit up and play 

That would make for some interesting old timers matchups.

[Fox40Kid]

The only fair way to do it . . . . we play Plinko.

[chakfu]

Simple way to fix the lottery and ELIMINATE tanking.

1.  Use cumulative record over past 3 years.

No team will tank 3 whole years.  Tanking one year is unlikely to make much of an impact.

No more San Antonio's getting Duncan because of one lucky year;  real teams that suffer will get the guys.

Plus, teams that get a franchise guy will get a chance to get one more year of a high pick after the team improves - so a real contender could get built rather than yo-yoing between the cellar and an 8th seed.


2.  Draw all 13 picks.   A big problem there is too much variability - teams like San Antonio, Chicago seem to win every time.   Minnesota, Boston, lose every time.   The chances to move up are so rare there winds up being more variability.   If a team had a chance to move up from, say, 9 to 6, things would have more of a chance to even out over the long run.    Tanking like Minnesota did to pass us in the Roy/Foye/Telfair year would be eliminated.   And the lottery would be a lot more exciting when every pick is up for grabs.  Maybe give the 13th team the most combinations and the worst team the fewest, last team standing gets the 1st pick.

[chakfu]

Here is one reason why randomizing makes a difference.  I believe that the numbers are drawn one at a time (if this is wrong...stop reading the rest of the post).  So for the sake of easy math let's say there are 1,000 combinations (as opposed to 1,001).  The team with 250 of those combinations you would think has a 25% chance of winning.  However, that's not really true when you draw one ball at a time.  Let's say you have numbers 1-250.  That means if the first ball that is draw is a 1, you have a 100% chance of winning.  If the first ball is a 2, you have a 50% chance of winning.  If the first number is not a 1 or a 2, you have no shot to win.  So wouldn't there really be a 15% chance to win, because you need a 1 to be the first number or you need a 2 to be the first number to still give you a chance. 

That doesn't make any sense, they're drawing combinations of numbers, not digits of one big number.

They should be randomized, but that's only to eliminate some inherent differences in the balls or the risk of someone tampering with the balls.   There probably weren't even any 1's or 2's in the hopper in '07.