Lottery Reform

[OrlDave]

Didn't pass. That's fine, probably for the best.

[ivDT]

i say get rid of the draft lottery altogether and just let rookies sign as free agents. get rid of conferences, too. also, get rid of the philadelphia 76ers.

boom. problem solved. no more tanking.

[yoyojw17]

what time is the parade in Philadelphia? smh

[Orlwillbeback]

it didnt pass hahahaha

[Phila Tough]

what time is the parade in Philadelphia? smh

It was epic.

[purpleswordfish]

I don't like what Philly is doing.

Orlando has tanked at least two seasons in franchise history, maybe even more. So, it's not just Philly.

As for the lottery, I like it the way it is now. The draft is there to make bad teams good quickly. If they want to improve the draft, they should make it a minimum of two years in college so teams get a more NBA-ready player instead of a prospect.

That wouldn't improve the draft, just make guys waste a year in a college when they could be helping an NBA team. Unless someone comes up with evidence that guys drafted at 20 are better than guys drafted at 19, this weird myth needs to die.

Saying the draft is supposed to help teams improve quickly is kind of like people who rely on scratch off tickets to supplement their income. Sure it might pay off every once in a while, but you should probably have a better plan in place. two years ago we were terrible, got a really good draft spot, drafted a sophomore that everyone had high hopes for and didn't really improve at all. Real improvement comes from good coaching and a smart GM.

In the 80's and 90's, it was to make bad teams good again. Look at Orlando with Shaq, Philly with Iverson, Toronto with Vince Carter, the list goes on. The difference then was that you had players doing more than one year in college. They actually had time to go from a prospect to a player. Call it a myth if you like, but you comparing the current draft to scratch offs proves my point - every year you're rolling the dice on some 18-19 year old kid who probably won't contribute for a few years, if ever.

Also, you say improvement comes from a good coach and a smart GM. If that's the case, Orlando has a poor coach and/or GM. They haven't shown any improvement since Hennigan/Vaughn's arrival.

[KingRobb02]

In the 80's and 90's, it was to make bad teams good again. Look at Orlando with Shaq, Philly with Iverson, Toronto with Vince Carter, the list goes on. The difference then was that you had players doing more than one year in college. They actually had time to go from a prospect to a player. Call it a myth if you like, but you comparing the current draft to scratch offs proves my point - every year you're rolling the dice on some 18-19 year old kid who probably won't contribute for a few years, if ever.

Also, you say improvement comes from a good coach and a smart GM. If that's the case, Orlando has a poor coach and/or GM. They haven't shown any improvement since Hennigan/Vaughn's arrival.

Pointing to the 80s and 90s kind of ignores the cultural shift that happened when guys like KG, Kobe, and McGrady changed the landscape. Before them, it was accepted as normal for guys to waste a year in college. But after them, we figured out that the NCAA is a waste of time. Three years of college didn't stop Big Dog Robinson from going ahead of Hall of Famers Kidd and Hill. Joe SMith still went ahead of KG, Sheed, and Stackhouse. Olowokandi went first while Paul Pierce fell to 10. Mistakes still happen when guys stay in school. Shaq wasn't a force of nature because he stayed for his junior year. He was a force of nature because he's Shaq. That would be the same if he got drafted at 18 or at 22. Just comes down to whether he is getting paid while he develops or not.

Besides saying that drafting X, made this team good kind of ignores that all the teams you listed drafted in the lottery for years before striking gold. The Magic had 5 straight lotto picks before making the playoffs. Philly had 7. If lottery picks are your way out of the gutter, you should probably be ready to wait. I wasn't comparing the current draft to scratch offs, I was comparing all drafts to scratch offs. You just never know how good a guy will be because college is a completely different game. Never Nervous Pervis was supposed to be a hall of famer. Shawn Bradley was supposed to lead the league in blocks every year. Danny Ferry was supposed to be a guaranteed 20 PPG scorer. Mistakes will happen no matter what. Why waste time with the NCAA?

As far as you comment that "Orlando has a poor coach and/or GM"... Well duh