Do people really think the lottery is fixed?

[Chelm]

I guess none of you read the articles LarBrd33 posted.

I know making it into a joke and comparing it to corrupt politics (and Bigfoot??  Really?) makes it true, but I've still yet to hear one plausible reason why the other 13 representatives of the other teams (that lost many millions of dollars by getting screwed not getting the #1 pick) in attendance seem to think it's fair, yet you do not.

[fairweatherfan]

Suspicion would be my word to use over fixed... i didnt vote because i am completely undecided on the topic. I dont wanna believe, but kinda sorta completely believe that at least this year it was fixed.

Last year with LeBron leaving and Cleveland getting picks #1 and #4 was fishy also.

The #4 pick, which they don't even draw for, is evidence of a rigged system?  We're through the looking glass here, people.

aren't all lottery drawings in general done under public watch?  Like mega millions is televised.... wasn't the military draft lottery broadcasted on radio/tv back then?  Yet the NBA lottery isn't drawn live.....

Sounds shady to me.

This was covered, repeatedly, earlier in the thread.  Also it's funny you'd mention the Vietnam birthday lottery, since an old stats professor of mine used that as an example of a dubious lottery process.  The numbers were not remotely in line with a random distribution.

I've still yet to hear one plausible reason why the other 13 representatives of the other teams (that lost many millions of dollars by getting screwed not getting the #1 pick) in attendance seem to think it's fair, yet you do not.

Like most conspiracy theories, it sounds more and more plausible the less you think about how it would actually have to work.  Conspiracies work great in cartoons and horribly in real life.

[Chelm]

I'm weirded out and, quite frankly, a little disappointed that (as of this post) 60% of the voters think the system is fixed.  Especially after reading all of the information that has been presented in this thread.

[bdm860]

I guess none of you read the articles LarBrd33 posted.

I know making it into a joke and comparing it to corrupt politics (and Bigfoot??  Really?) makes it true, but I've still yet to hear one plausible reason why the other 13 representatives of the other teams (that lost many millions of dollars by getting screwed not getting the #1 pick) in attendance seem to think it's fair, yet you do not.

Why do you assume the other 13 representatives know it's fixed?  Actually why would the team that won even need to be on the fix? 

Ok, I can see the conspiracy theory this year with the Hornets for sale, "if you buy the team I'll make sure you get the #1 pick...". But when people point to the big markets of Chicago and New York the years they won, or claim Stern gave Cleveland the pic cuz of LeBron, why would anybody other than Stern (and his very select few cronies) need to know it was fixed?

The best con/scam/fixes aren't obvious, they should look like they never happened.  If there was a fix, it would be done in a way that most in the room would never be able to notice happening.

[Ocie1]

more than words

[Celtics4ever]

They are a cartel who fines anyone or financially punishes anyone who speaks out about them.  See Mark Cuban, as an example, you speak ill of the NBA and you pay horrendous fines.   There is a real financial incentive not to speak out.  Lottos have been rigged too folks.

Watch the games and tell me that the treatment that LeBron gets is not more than star calls.   I do not even think that MJ or Larry got as many FTAs or help as LeBron.

[LarBrd33]

Can one of the 13 people who voted that the lotto is fixed please read this article and let me know if your opinion changes:  http://nba-point-forward.si.com/2012/05/30/nba-draft-lottery/

and here is his follow-up article where he comments on the conspiracy theory:  http://nba-point-forward.si.com/2012/05/31/an-nba-draft-lottery-conspiracy-it-didnt-seem-that-way/

This needs to be bumped over and over again.  Do you realize how much money someone would get if he published a book about this conspiracy, and how it was perpetrated?  It would be enough that it would have happened by now.

In unrelated news, an engineer I work with spent half an hour in my office trying to convince me the Holocaust didn't happen.  He saw some youtube conspiracy theory video and now he is convinced.  I'm serious.  Conspiracy theorists make me really uncomfortable.

Yes I'm still waiting for one of the 24 voters who believe the lotto is "fixed" to read those two articles and let me know if their opinion changes.  Good lord. 

My guess is people just think it's funny to vote that way and don't actually believe it's fixed... and don't care to hear an explanation of why it isn't.  More fun to believe in conspiracy theories.

[D Dub]

I wonder why they don't film the ping pong balls anymore?

[Celtics4ever]

None of LarBrd33 arugments have swayed my thoughts that it could be fixed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX1kMlG8c7Y

Sure as heck looks like he went right for this one.

http://www.scoresreport.com/2007/04/19/was-the-1985-draft-lottery-really-fixed/

accompanying article.

82% believe it was fixed and 55% are adamant about it.

http://beyondthebets.com/2012/05/31/was-the-nba-draft-lottery-fixed-a-whopping-82-percent-of-fans-think-its-a-possibility/

http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/22748484/29391755

interesting article.

http://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/msn/nba_execs_complain_about_rigged_lottery_after_league_owned_hornets_win_top_pick/10909472

“It’s such a joke that the league made the new owners be at the lottery for the show,” one high-ranking team executive told Yahoo Sports . “The league still owns the Hornets. Ask their front office if new owners can make a trade right now. They can’t. This is a joke.”

The reaction of several league executives was part disgust, part resignation on Wednesday night. So many had predicted this happening, so many suspected that somehow, someway, the Hornets would walk away with Davis. That's the worst part for the NBA; these aren't the railings from the guy sitting at the corner tavern, but the belief of those working within the machinery that something undue happened here, that they suspect it happens all the time under Stern.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/nba-lottery-rigged-2012-5#ixzz1wZzLYGSn

Some of those representatives do voice displeasure but to go against the league would be suicide and they would lose their team.  How come you did not post these articles LarBrd33?

How about this one?

TThe prize of the 1985 draft was a once-in-a-lifetime center in Georgetown's Patrick Ewing. The New York Knicks won the lottery with the third-worst record in the NBA and a 14.29 percent chance of landing the top pick in the 1985 NBA draft. Rumors of a rigged lottery swirled after the results of the lottery were announced. People claimed that the league wanted this once-in-a-lifetime player to go to the league's biggest market so that the Knicks would be relevant again.

The Philadelphia 76ers were going through rough times in the early to mid 1990's and needed a player to reignite the fanbase. The Sixers got that player in the 1996 NBA draft. The team had the best odds, 33 percent chance, to land the No. 1 pick, and ended up winning the lottery and selecting Allen Iverson. Although the Sixers did have the best odds, there still is some debate as to if this lottery was legitimate.

Michael Jordan was the president of basketball operations of the Washington Wizards when they had a 15.7 percent chance at winning the NBA lottery. The Wizards won the 2001 lottery, and Michael Jordan decided to select Kwame Brown with the first-overall selection. At the time of the lottery, there were numerous rumors that Jordan was going to come out of retirement to play for the Washington Wizards.

It seems like David Stern knew that Jordan was coming back and wanted to give them the No. 1 selection to add some excitement to the Wizards. However, Brown turned out to be a huge bust and never really turned out to be the player that Jordan once thought that he could be.

In 2003, another once-in-a-lifetime prospect was available out of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. The Cleveland Cavaliers, whose stadium is about 40 miles from LeBron James' high school, had the best shot at winning the lottery at a 22 percent chance. The Cavs ended up winning the 2003 lottery and selected James, who was able to stay in his hometown. The reason that it could have been rigged in 2003 is that the league wanted to change the landscape of the Cavaliers franchise by giving them a hometown hero in James.

The Chicago Bulls entered the 2008 draft lottery with a 1.8 percent chance of winning the top pick in the draft. The Bulls won the 2008 lottery and selected Derrick Rose a month later.

The fact that a team won the lottery with a 1.8 percent chance of winning is suspicious enough, but the fact that it was a major market team without a superstar made critics even more skeptical of the NBA's lottery. David Stern saw how successful the NBA can be when Chicago is a dominant team and perhaps wanted Chicago to be an elite team once again.

The Wizards had a tumultuous 2009-2010 season, dealing with both the death of their longtime owner, Abe Pollin, and the suspension of Gilbert Arenas due to his storage of guns in the team's locker room. The team obviously needed a boost, and they definitely got one when they landed the top pick in the 2010 draft. The Wizards selected John Wall with the No. 1 overall pick.

Abe's widow, Irene, happened to be in attendance of the draft lottery, which was also quite a coincidence.

The Cleveland Cavaliers had two lottery selections in the 2011 NBA draft due to a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers. What is ironic is, the pick that actually had far less odds of winning the lottery, at a two percent chance, actually ended up being the No. 1 overall selection. The Cavaliers were obviously devastated by the departure of LeBron James and seemed to have no hope. That is, until Kyrie Irving, the No. 1 overall selection, came to town. A possible theory is that the league wanted the Cavaliers to become relevant again after losing LeBron.

The New Orleans Hornets entered the lottery with the fourth-best chance of landing the No. 1 overall selection. The Hornets came away with the first pick and will almost certainly choose Kentucky's Anthony Davis with the first overall pick. Not only does the NBA still technically own the team, as the sale to Tom Benson is currently pending, but Benson, his wife and their granddaughter also just happened to be attending the lottery.

This coincidence is very similar to the one in 2010 one Abe Pollin's widow just happened to be attending the lottery in which her team, the Wizards, came away with the No. 1 pick.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1204023-2012-nba-draft-8-examples-of-how-the-nba-lottery-could-be-fixed

Great stories aren't they?  Almost seems like a happy ending and scripted.   I for one do not believe in fairy tales.

[ManchesterCelticsFan]

Suspicion would be my word to use over fixed... i didnt vote because i am completely undecided on the topic. I dont wanna believe, but kinda sorta completely believe that at least this year it was fixed.

Last year with LeBron leaving and Cleveland getting picks #1 and #4 was fishy also.

The #4 pick, which they don't even draw for, is evidence of a rigged system?  We're through the looking glass here, people.

The Cavs could have won the lottery with their own worst record in the league, highest chance, 25% pick in 2011 but they won it with a slim chance via trade and kept the best possible, non-lottery top 3 winning pick (via worst record in the league) at #4.

[ManchesterCelticsFan]

The reaction of several league executives was part disgust, part resignation on Wednesday night. So many had predicted this happening, so many suspected that somehow, someway, the Hornets would walk away with Davis. That's the worst part for the NBA; these aren't the railings from the guy sitting at the corner tavern, but the belief of those working within the machinery that something undue happened here, that they suspect it happens all the time under Stern.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/nba-lottery-rigged-2012-5#ixzz1wZzLYGSn

Assuming this is true, people who actually work for these NBA teams with inside knowledge of what goes on, way more than any of us outside fans could possibly want to know, beleive it, then....

[Senninsage]

Of course it's fixed. It was blatantly fixed.

[GreenNote]

Here is an excerpt from Shaq's Uncut book: 'A couple of weeks before the draft lottery I got to meet Mr. David Stern, the commissioner of the NBA. His question to me was, "Where do you want to play?" Now I don't want to create no conspiracy theory, but I told him, "Definitely where it's hot."'

Shaq got his wish! OK it could have been a coincidence as well but you never know ...

[JSD]

Of course it's fixed. It was blatantly fixed.

Haha, yup. Once the Hornets were sold I knew where the first pick was going.

[Change]

Its obviously fixed. NBA hides the process behind closed doors. Never forget Patrick Ewing frozen envelope