I mean, If I were a commissioner of a league... and my main concerns are parity and that teams can have stars to sell to their cities. Why not rig the lottery? It makes perfect sense to.
I'll share a little secret with you: the league determines the process so they don't have to rig anything. If they wanted to give the top pick to the worst team, they can (and have indeed done so for many years).
Isn't it computerized anyway so essentially you can just fix it in plain sight?
I'm not making the claim that there is a conspiracy. My main point is, why not rig the lottery? Cleveland Cavaliers are a positive to the league, and has been one of the more lucrative storylines since their drafting of LeBron. When he left, they got more #1 picks and now that storyline has been seen to it's completion as LeBron was enticed to return. In another timeline where they got the #2 pick and drafted Melo, who can't revert the effects of organizational dysfunction, the NBA doesn't shape out the way that it has to this point.
If I'm Silver, I give the Net's the #1 pick because that is the best chance of stopping the LeBron show that has become the Eastern Conference, whether Boston keeps the player or not. Competition is good for business.