New Orleans will get the #1 amd #3 pick

[CFAN38]

I'm not much for conspiracies but I think the NBA is full of back handed dealings. It would not shock me in the least if the Hornets end up with 2 of the top 5 picks.

It not a stretch for me to picture Stern telling the new owner "you buy this team and you will get 2 top five picks in a strong draft to build around and the 2014 allstar game."

A Core of say Gorden (has he really been that injured all season?), Kidd-Gilcrest (2nd pick), and T Robinson (3rd pick) would be attractive to a new owner.   

[Finkelskyhook]

Put on your tinfoil hat tonight?

Other teams ownership wouldn't stand for fixing the lottery, just crazy fan talk about nothing. The potential gain for the league is very small, the fallout for stern would be massive if exposed. He wouldn't bother messing with it.

Besides the ping pong machines aren't easy to rig and multiple teams observe. The second and third picks have to be drawn after all.

I used to believe that until the year we shamelessly overtly tanked....We and the two teams that overtly tanked along with us got the worst possible draft positions they possibly could have. I think Coach Hobbs posted the odds of that happening at the time.

Sorry, Faf....That didn't happen in a vacuum.  The odds were too remote of it happening that way. 

Charlotte is next on Stern's radar.

The New Orleans scenario as named in this thread could happen because at least they're competing every game...And didn't buy out a key player...

[twinbree]

This wouldn't surprise me in the least. Nothing related to Stern's NBA does. This draft will be interesting seeing where the Hornets, Nets, and Kings end up. I don't mind them getting the top picks TBH. I like those picks to go teams where a very promising rookie can make a difference. Bobcats, Raptors and Wizards are hopeless IMO. Wizards maybe not so much after the McGee trade but still.

[Finkelskyhook]

This wouldn't surprise me in the least. Nothing related to Stern's NBA does. This draft will be interesting seeing where the Hornets, Nets, and Kings end up. I don't mind them getting the top picks TBH. I like those picks to go teams where a very promising rookie can make a difference. Bobcats, Raptors and Wizards are hopeless IMO. Wizards maybe not so much after the McGee trade but still.

I don't know about hopeless.  My thing is that a team should put the best product on the court they possibly can.  Charlotte has experimented with coaches for God's sake.  They aren't competing.  Their roster sucks...But they're not playing hard.

The year we tanked, we sat Pierce for the season immediately after he had a 50 point game. Writing was pretty much on the wall then.   

[fairweatherfan]

I used to believe that until the year we shamelessly overtly tanked....We and the two teams that overtly tanked along with us got the worst possible draft positions they possibly could have. I think Coach Hobbs posted the odds of that happening at the time.

Sorry, Faf....That didn't happen in a vacuum.  The odds were too remote of it happening that way. 

The problem with this reasoning is that the odds of every possible lottery outcome are exceedingly low, because there are so many of them.  The most likely lottery combination - worst team gets #1, 2nd worst #2, 3rd #3 - has a less than 2% chance of occurring. 

By the logic you're using, every possible outcome would reflect a conspiracy, because they're all really unlikely.  It's like watching someone draw a random card out of a deck and claiming they must have cheated because there was only a 1/52 chance of drawing that card.

[Fafnir]

Put on your tinfoil hat tonight?

Other teams ownership wouldn't stand for fixing the lottery, just crazy fan talk about nothing. The potential gain for the league is very small, the fallout for stern would be massive if exposed. He wouldn't bother messing with it.

Besides the ping pong machines aren't easy to rig and multiple teams observe. The second and third picks have to be drawn after all.

I used to believe that until the year we shamelessly overtly tanked....We and the two teams that overtly tanked along with us got the worst possible draft positions they possibly could have. I think Coach Hobbs posted the odds of that happening at the time.

Sorry, Faf....That didn't happen in a vacuum.  The odds were too remote of it happening that way. 

Charlotte is next on Stern's radar.

The New Orleans scenario as named in this thread could happen because at least they're competing every game...And didn't buy out a key player...

Beyond what fwf has said about your faulty logic, plenty of teams have blantantly tanked and received a top 3 pick.

[Finkelskyhook]

I used to believe that until the year we shamelessly overtly tanked....We and the two teams that overtly tanked along with us got the worst possible draft positions they possibly could have. I think Coach Hobbs posted the odds of that happening at the time.

Sorry, Faf....That didn't happen in a vacuum.  The odds were too remote of it happening that way. 

The problem with this reasoning is that the odds of every possible lottery outcome are exceedingly low, because there are so many of them.  The most likely lottery combination - worst team gets #1, 2nd worst #2, 3rd #3 - has a less than 2% chance of occurring.  By the logic you're using, every possible outcome would reflect a conspiracy, because they're all really unlikely.  It's like watching someone draw a random card out of a deck and claiming they must have cheated because there was only a 1/52 chance of drawing that card.

What are the odds of the reverse scenario?  Even more remote.  But it happened. 

After pulling Pierce after his 50 point game.  And some less than sincere interviews with Ainge, Rivers, and Gomes after..My only surprise was that Stern didn't take away our pick altogether.

[fairweatherfan]

I used to believe that until the year we shamelessly overtly tanked....We and the two teams that overtly tanked along with us got the worst possible draft positions they possibly could have. I think Coach Hobbs posted the odds of that happening at the time.

Sorry, Faf....That didn't happen in a vacuum.  The odds were too remote of it happening that way. 

The problem with this reasoning is that the odds of every possible lottery outcome are exceedingly low, because there are so many of them.  The most likely lottery combination - worst team gets #1, 2nd worst #2, 3rd #3 - has a less than 2% chance of occurring.  By the logic you're using, every possible outcome would reflect a conspiracy, because they're all really unlikely.  It's like watching someone draw a random card out of a deck and claiming they must have cheated because there was only a 1/52 chance of drawing that card.

What are the odds of the reverse scenario?  Even more remote.  But it happened. 

That's the point - every outcome is unlikely, every outcome has a remote chance of happening.  And there were hundreds of possible results even less likely than ours that didn't happen.

Unlikely outcomes are not only the norm, they're the only possible result of the process, because there are no likely outcomes.  So an unlikely outcome is evidence of absolutely nothing. 

[Celtics4ever]

Anyone building a new arena?   My money is on them getting the pick.

[azzenfrost]

Kings then?