Padog

May 20th, 2014 at 8:26 PM ^

The NBA is so rigged. Really the Cavs get the first pick again? This is ridiculous . They can pick Embiid and lebron can come back.

Voltron is Handsome

May 21st, 2014 at 8:51 AM ^

No, the lottery makes sense, but ONLY if they draw the team names on TV in front of the world and not in a room behind cameras and then just announce the selections. The lottery is good (and again, only if they drew team names on live TV) because it somewhat deters teams from tanking on purpose since there is no guarantee of the number one pick for the worst team.

Blue Mike

May 21st, 2014 at 9:25 AM ^

What is so bad about tanking?  I don't see people whining about the Jacksonville Jaguars or the Houston Astros being terrible and getting "rewarded" with a high draft pick.  

The NBA is so star-driven that the only way 80% of the league can get good is by hitting on a draft pick.  I'd rather the worst teams get the best players and have a chance to get better than one mediocre team keep getting the best players and still sucking.

Besides, Bill Simmons had an interesting stat yesterday:  

Through 29 NBA lotteries dating back to 1985, only one franchise ever won the NBA title with its own no. 1 overall pick. The team? San Antonio with David Robinson (two titles) and Tim Duncan (four titles, two with Robinson).

Good luck Cleveland!

Padog

May 20th, 2014 at 8:42 PM ^

3 of the last 4. 1.7% chance of the number 1 pick. That is ridiculous. There team is going to really good next year once lebron makes "the decision 2".
PG: Kyrie Irving
SG: Dion Waiters
SF: LeBron James
PF: Tristian Thompson
C: Joel Embiid
Wow

Padog

May 20th, 2014 at 10:58 PM ^

Not that good?
PG: Kyrie Irving, an all star.
SG: Dion Waiters, Dwayne Wade wanna be.
SF: LeBron James, best player in the world.
PF: Tristian Thompson, budding young player.
C: Joel Embiid, some think he is the best talent in the draft.
This team would have options to score and be good on defense. No more old D Wade, no more alien Bosh. Just LeBron and Kyrie taking things over. Plus Luol Deng and Anderson Varejao.

Padog

May 21st, 2014 at 7:38 AM ^

Still though, any team with LeBron is automatically good. Adding Irving, who has progressed, and Embiid who some say is the next Hakeem Olajuwon and you have a good team. Irving can actually play 70 games a season unlike wade and Embiid plays defense. Bosh can't play D and he is an off and on scorer.

MGoChippewa

May 21st, 2014 at 9:21 AM ^

has played a whopping 6 regular season games more than Wade in the last two seasons.  Not to mention, Irving has regressed in every statistical category since his rookie year.  LINK  He's obviously very talented, but he has to prove it for a whole season.  Embiid is going to be great if healthy, but that team is still looking at playing Dion Waiters and Tristan Thompson for 30+ minutes per game.  It's definitely a better roster than what LeBron had when he was there to start his career, but I don't really see that team being good enough to win a title unless LeBron has some kind of ridiculous run.  I don't think he wants that; just my opinion.

bronxblue

May 21st, 2014 at 12:42 PM ^

I will eat a hat if LeBron returns to Cleveland.  I know there is talk about him considering it, but when I see something more than the smoke being blown up Cleveland's collective butt I'll believe it.

HartAttack20

May 21st, 2014 at 12:16 AM ^

The point of the lottery is to show that things like this can happen and you can't just tank for a guaranteed top pick. I guess they could very well be rigging the lottery, but this wasn't impossible. Odds are odds. With the way their last #1 pick went, it's not like they're guaranteed an awesome player by any means. I'm more upset that the Pistons lost their pick. I've payed so little attention to them this year that I didn't even realize they conditionally traded that pick. 

Ghost of BCook…

May 20th, 2014 at 8:28 PM ^

At least it's over with....nothing on the books starting next draft.  #positiveside

TheLastHarbaugh

May 20th, 2014 at 8:31 PM ^

One last fuck you from Dumars. It sucks but it's over now. Man up and move on. The Pistons have $21-28 million in cap space depending on what happens this off-season. They can re-shape their team and ball out from here onward.