If the draft is rigged...

[M3tro]

I'll never forget in 2004 when the Penguins were on the verge of bankruptcy and owned by Lemieux. Jim Balsillie was flexing to everyone that he would buy them and move them to Hamilton.

The NHL had the lockout season and tweaked the formula for the lottery and surprise, surprise....Crosby ends up in Pittsburgh.

When billions are on the line, it ain't being left up to chance. You'd be daft to think otherwise.

[Johnny Bball]

Yeah the draft is rigged that's why James was drafted by **** Cleveland and Wemby went to the small market Spurs, and Zion went to purgatory in New Orleans.

COVID was real too boss

And....?

[Johnny Bball]

I'll never forget in 2004 when the Penguins were on the verge of bankruptcy and owned by Lemieux. Jim Balsillie was flexing to everyone that he would buy them and move them to Hamilton.

The NHL had the lockout season and tweaked the formula for the lottery and surprise, surprise....Crosby ends up in Pittsburgh.

When billions are on the line, it ain't being left up to chance. You'd be daft to think otherwise.

The leafs were blocking any move to Toronto. Lemiux owned the Penguins for 5 years. What are you talking about.

[Shakril]

The evidence against it also isn’t foolproof, whether it’s rigged or not, it’s not for any of us to say for certain

Thats a false equivalance (i hopre i wrote it right).

Its upon the sceptics to proofs its rigged, not the other way round.
As of now it is 100% certain, that it isnt rigged, unless you can proof that it isnt.

That’s not how it works.

People used to think the Earth was flat, but people like you didn’t allow others to speculate whether it was round. There was no foolproof evidence for either narrative at the time. You can’t say it’s 100% certain the Earth is flat and that it’s on the skeptics to prove that the Earth is round.

When there is no foolproof evidence for either side or even strong evidence, you don’t make conclusive statements for either narrative. It can be open to speculation.

No it is not open to speculation. There is a clear procedure how the lottery works. And it is followed every year. There is NO reason to suspect foul play as there is no clear evidence to it. It works exactly as it was meant to work. If have evidence, come forth otherwise its just a conspiracy with no basis.

Its like pregnancy, you are either pregnant or not, you cant be both.

[Shakril]

That’s not how it works.

People used to think the Earth was flat, but people like you didn’t allow others to speculate whether it was round. There was no foolproof evidence for either narrative at the time. You can’t say it’s 100% certain the Earth is flat and that it’s on the skeptics to prove that the Earth is round.

When there is no foolproof evidence for either side or even strong evidence, you don’t make conclusive statements for either narrative. It can be open to speculation.

Are you suggesting there is no proof that the draft isn't rigged?

What about the fact that a representative from Ernst & Young (an audit firm) oversees the entire process. Is that not in turn some assurance that there is no rigging?

Third parties can be bought or corrupt. The FDA, for example, also got caught up in a several scandals, some known to the public, many unknown.

Ernst & Young themselves got caught in a scandal where they had to pay up $100 M for cheating on ethics exams. Double whammy considering they’re the ones who are supposed to catch cheaters and that it was an ethics exam.

When informed of potential cheating, they investigated themselves and claimed that there were no cheating issues.

That’s NOT to say the draft is rigged, only that there’s no 100% certainty of anything without full transparency. I would accept it with 100% certainty if they made certain tweaks to the ping pong machine process, for instance.

You sound now like a Flat earther.

3 Different people have pointed out certain points:

- burdon of proof lies on the accuser (the ones crying rigged)
- 3rd party involvement
- no whistleblower
- most Stars went to smaller markets


At this point, unless you have proof in your hands, it is a conspiracy theory and has no basis in a serious discussion.

Didnt the Orange Menace in the US teach you enough what happens if conspiracies are getting out of control?

[ciueli]

Flagg will end up in Utah 100%

Flagg to Washington: "Big market that has been terrible forever, need talent desperately to save market, draft is fixed"
Flagg to Utah: "NBA sent Flagg to Utah because they like white players there or something, draft is fixed"
Flagg to Charlotte: "Charlotte is a train wreck and needs help to save that market, plus reward new owners, draft is fixed"
Flagg to Philadelphia: "Big market with albatross contracts, need Flagg to be relevant again and save them from their bad decisions, draft is fixed"
Flagg to Brooklyn: "Big market that got screwed by Durant, Kyrie, and Harden, makeup pick for that, draft is fixed"
Flagg to Chicago: "Big market that hasn't been relevant in some time, need a new build around player, draft is fixed"
Flagg to San Antonio: "Creating the next dynasty team with Flagg and Wemby since Wemby can't get it done himself and they need him in the playoffs ASAP, draft is fixed"

Flagg to Toronto or Portland: "..."

So the only way the draft can't be fixed is if we or Portland land Flagg, right? Or something? I'm sure I could think of a reason the draft is fixed if they send him to Portland given enough time.

[M3tro]

I'll never forget in 2004 when the Penguins were on the verge of bankruptcy and owned by Lemieux. Jim Balsillie was flexing to everyone that he would buy them and move them to Hamilton.

The NHL had the lockout season and tweaked the formula for the lottery and surprise, surprise....Crosby ends up in Pittsburgh.

When billions are on the line, it ain't being left up to chance. You'd be daft to think otherwise.

The leafs were blocking any move to Toronto. Lemiux owned the Penguins for 5 years. What are you talking about.

I'll slow it down for you...

Penguins drowning and the Igloo falling apart.

Lemieux an icon of hockey.

Talk of relocation to another city.

Billionaire from Southern Ontario openly flexing that he wanted to purchase them and move them (preferably to Hamilton).

NHL insistent they wanted to keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh.

Other suitors from Kansas City, Vegas and OKC emerge.

NHL lockout happens and they tweak the draft lottery formula.

Penguins miraculously land the #1 pick and generational phenom Sidney Crosby who ends up saving the franchise.

The timing of it all was impeccable. Too **** impeccable.

_____________________

Similar to how the Cavs landed LeBron; than landed 3 first overall picks in 4 years once he took his talents to South Beach.

All just a coincidence and blind luck though, right?

[M3tro]

Are you suggesting there is no proof that the draft isn't rigged?

What about the fact that a representative from Ernst & Young (an audit firm) oversees the entire process. Is that not in turn some assurance that there is no rigging?

Third parties can be bought or corrupt. The FDA, for example, also got caught up in a several scandals, some known to the public, many unknown.

Ernst & Young themselves got caught in a scandal where they had to pay up $100 M for cheating on ethics exams. Double whammy considering they’re the ones who are supposed to catch cheaters and that it was an ethics exam.

When informed of potential cheating, they investigated themselves and claimed that there were no cheating issues.

That’s NOT to say the draft is rigged, only that there’s no 100% certainty of anything without full transparency. I would accept it with 100% certainty if they made certain tweaks to the ping pong machine process, for instance.

You sound now like a Flat earther.

3 Different people have pointed out certain points:

- burdon of proof lies on the accuser (the ones crying rigged)
- 3rd party involvement
- no whistleblower
- most Stars went to smaller markets


At this point, unless you have proof in your hands, it is a conspiracy theory and has no basis in a serious discussion.

Didnt the Orange Menace in the US teach you enough what happens if conspiracies are getting out of control?

The irony is 500 years ago YOU would have been a flat earther telling Gallileo that he was a heretic and needed to prove the Earth was round, as every credible and educated person swore it was flat.

You think how you're told to think.

[Raps in 4]

If the draft is rigged, they'll make Flagg go back to college for a year, so the Lakers can stealth tank next year, and then win the lottery next year. Luka + Flagg.

No need. They'll just force Utah or whoever drafts him to trade him to the Lakers for a bag of chips in 5 years. It's better to let the small market teams develop the players, then facilitate their move to LA once they're in their primes. It's been the NBA's strategy for 40 years now.

[Raps in 4]

If the NBA wants to dispel the myth that the lottery is rigged, they can televise it. They already televise the announcement show. Why not televise the 5 minutes of ping pong balls bouncing too?

[Johnny Bball]

I'll never forget in 2004 when the Penguins were on the verge of bankruptcy and owned by Lemieux. Jim Balsillie was flexing to everyone that he would buy them and move them to Hamilton.

The NHL had the lockout season and tweaked the formula for the lottery and surprise, surprise....Crosby ends up in Pittsburgh.

When billions are on the line, it ain't being left up to chance. You'd be daft to think otherwise.

The leafs were blocking any move to Toronto. Lemiux owned the Penguins for 5 years. What are you talking about.

I'll slow it down for you...

Penguins drowning and the Igloo falling apart.

Lemieux an icon of hockey.

Talk of relocation to another city.

Billionaire from Southern Ontario openly flexing that he wanted to purchase them and move them (preferably to Hamilton).

NHL insistent they wanted to keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh.

Other suitors from Kansas City, Vegas and OKC emerge.

NHL lockout happens and they tweak the draft lottery formula.

Penguins miraculously land the #1 pick and generational phenom Sidney Crosby who ends up saving the franchise.

The timing of it all was impeccable. Too **** impeccable.

_____________________

Similar to how the Cavs landed LeBron; than landed 3 first overall picks in 4 years once he took his talents to South Beach.

All just a coincidence and blind luck though, right?

You'll "slow it down for me" explaining what I alredy know while inventing some **** because you like conpiracyies? LOL!

[M3tro]

The leafs were blocking any move to Toronto. Lemiux owned the Penguins for 5 years. What are you talking about.

I'll slow it down for you...

Penguins drowning and the Igloo falling apart.

Lemieux an icon of hockey.

Talk of relocation to another city.

Billionaire from Southern Ontario openly flexing that he wanted to purchase them and move them (preferably to Hamilton).

NHL insistent they wanted to keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh.

Other suitors from Kansas City, Vegas and OKC emerge.

NHL lockout happens and they tweak the draft lottery formula.

Penguins miraculously land the #1 pick and generational phenom Sidney Crosby who ends up saving the franchise.

The timing of it all was impeccable. Too **** impeccable.

_____________________

Similar to how the Cavs landed LeBron; than landed 3 first overall picks in 4 years once he took his talents to South Beach.

All just a coincidence and blind luck though, right?

You'll "slow it down for me" explaining what I alredy know while inventing some **** because you like conpiracyies? LOL!

What did I invent chief?

I just gave a timeline of events lol.

If you didn't want the response, than don't respond to me and hit the block button bruthaaa

[Johnny Bball]

I'll slow it down for you...

Penguins drowning and the Igloo falling apart.

Lemieux an icon of hockey.

Talk of relocation to another city.

Billionaire from Southern Ontario openly flexing that he wanted to purchase them and move them (preferably to Hamilton).

NHL insistent they wanted to keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh.

Other suitors from Kansas City, Vegas and OKC emerge.

NHL lockout happens and they tweak the draft lottery formula.

Penguins miraculously land the #1 pick and generational phenom Sidney Crosby who ends up saving the franchise.

The timing of it all was impeccable. Too **** impeccable.

_____________________

Similar to how the Cavs landed LeBron; than landed 3 first overall picks in 4 years once he took his talents to South Beach.

All just a coincidence and blind luck though, right?

You'll "slow it down for me" explaining what I alredy know while inventing some **** because you like conpiracyies? LOL!

What did I invent chief?

I just gave a timeline of events lol.

If you didn't want the response, than don't respond to me and hit the block button bruthaaa

Your conclusion, and that there was any cHace Buffalo or the Leafs owuld allow it. Don't want to be called out for posting pure crazy (and completely unrelated) hit the block button.

[TheRaptor!]

The evidence against it also isn’t foolproof, whether it’s rigged or not, it’s not for any of us to say for certain

Thats a false equivalance (i hopre i wrote it right).

Its upon the sceptics to proofs its rigged, not the other way round.
As of now it is 100% certain, that it isnt rigged, unless you can proof that it isnt.

That’s not how it works.

People used to think the Earth was flat, but people like you didn’t allow others to speculate whether it was round. There was no foolproof evidence for either narrative at the time. You can’t say it’s 100% certain the Earth is flat and that it’s on the skeptics to prove that the Earth is round.

When there is no foolproof evidence for either side or even strong evidence, you don’t make conclusive statements for either narrative. It can be open to speculation.

Some of yall are too young to know about the bent envelope and frozen envelope

Donaghy was swept under the rug. Y'all think he acted alone without Stern's knowledge?

Who remembers this (from wiki):

Further suspicions were raised in 2016 and 2017, where former 76ers player Dikembe Mutombo congratulated Philadelphia for winning the first overall pick in the 2016 draft early via Twitter and recently hired Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson and coach Luke Walton stating that the Lakers were going to get a top 3 pick in the 2017 draft despite having higher odds of losing the pick to Philadelphia weeks before the draft lottery even began that year, respectively

[YogurtProducer]

Third parties can be bought or corrupt. The FDA, for example, also got caught up in a several scandals, some known to the public, many unknown.

Ernst & Young themselves got caught in a scandal where they had to pay up $100 M for cheating on ethics exams. Double whammy considering they’re the ones who are supposed to catch cheaters and that it was an ethics exam.

When informed of potential cheating, they investigated themselves and claimed that there were no cheating issues.

That’s NOT to say the draft is rigged, only that there’s no 100% certainty of anything without full transparency. I would accept it with 100% certainty if they made certain tweaks to the ping pong machine process, for instance.

You sound now like a Flat earther.

3 Different people have pointed out certain points:

- burdon of proof lies on the accuser (the ones crying rigged)
- 3rd party involvement
- no whistleblower
- most Stars went to smaller markets


At this point, unless you have proof in your hands, it is a conspiracy theory and has no basis in a serious discussion.

Didnt the Orange Menace in the US teach you enough what happens if conspiracies are getting out of control?

The irony is 500 years ago YOU would have been a flat earther telling Gallileo that he was a heretic and needed to prove the Earth was round, as every credible and educated person swore it was flat.

You think how you're told to think.

so your argument is "people used to be misinformed so now you aren't allowed to call my baseless claims bull"

IDK man - seems like a weak stance.

[Johnny Bball]

so your argument is "people used to be misinformed so now you aren't allowed to call my baseless claims bull"

IDK man - seems like a weak stance.

?Nah, he just thinks he's a modern day Gallileo and the freest of thinkers.

[YogurtProducer]

That’s not how it works.

People used to think the Earth was flat, but people like you didn’t allow others to speculate whether it was round. There was no foolproof evidence for either narrative at the time. You can’t say it’s 100% certain the Earth is flat and that it’s on the skeptics to prove that the Earth is round.

When there is no foolproof evidence for either side or even strong evidence, you don’t make conclusive statements for either narrative. It can be open to speculation.

Are you suggesting there is no proof that the draft isn't rigged?

What about the fact that a representative from Ernst & Young (an audit firm) oversees the entire process. Is that not in turn some assurance that there is no rigging?

Third parties can be bought or corrupt. The FDA, for example, also got caught up in a several scandals, some known to the public, many unknown.

Ernst & Young themselves got caught in a scandal where they had to pay up $100 M for cheating on ethics exams. Double whammy considering they’re the ones who are supposed to catch cheaters and that it was an ethics exam.

When informed of potential cheating, they investigated themselves and claimed that there were no cheating issues.

So you think Ernst and Young is sacrificing their entire reputation so Wemby goes to SA instead of a massive market like Chicago?

That’s NOT to say the draft is rigged, only that there’s no 100% certainty of anything without full transparency. I would accept it with 100% certainty if they made certain tweaks to the ping pong machine process, for instance.

What a bull argument.

There is full transparency. Every GM and Owner understands the process, and it is publicly posted.

The 40th annual NBA Draft Lottery will determine the order of selection for the first 14 picks of the 2025 NBA Draft. Drawings will be conducted to determine the first four picks in the NBA Draft. The remainder of the “lottery teams” will select in positions five through 14 in inverse order of their 2024-25 regular-season records.

The actual lottery procedure will take place in a separate room just before ESPN’s national broadcast. Select media, NBA officials and representatives of the participating teams and the accounting firm Ernst & Young will be in attendance for the drawings.

Fourteen ping-pong balls numbered 1 through 14 will be placed in a lottery machine. There are 1,001 possible combinations when four balls are drawn out of 14, without regard to their order of selection. Before the lottery, 1,000 of those 1,001 combinations will be assigned to the 14 participating lottery teams. The lottery machine is manufactured by the Smart Play Company, a leading manufacturer of state lottery machines throughout the United States. Smart Play also weighs, measures and certifies the ping-pong balls before the drawing.

The drawing process occurs in the following manner: All 14 balls are placed in the lottery machine and they are mixed for 20 seconds, and then the first ball is removed. The remaining balls are mixed in the lottery machine for another 10 seconds, and then the second ball is drawn. There is a 10-second mix, and then the third ball is drawn. There is a 10-second mix, and then the fourth ball is drawn. The team that has been assigned that combination will receive the No. 1 pick. The same process is repeated with the same ping-pong balls and lottery machine for the second through fourth picks.

If the same team comes up more than once, the result is discarded and another four-ball combination is selected. Also, if the one unassigned combination is drawn, the result is discarded and the balls are drawn again. The length of time the balls are mixed is monitored by a timekeeper who faces away from the machine and signals the machine operator after the appropriate amount of time has elapsed.

A representative from Ernst & Young oversees the entire lottery process and stuffs and seals the envelopes before bringing them to the studio for the broadcast. The announcement of the lottery results will be made by NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum. A second representative from each participating team will be seated on stage. Neither the Deputy Commissioner nor the team representatives on stage will be informed of the lottery results before the envelopes are opened. The team whose logo is in the last envelope opened will have the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

Do you not understand how ridiculous it is suggest that this could be rigged? In total we have

The NBA
14 Team Reps
Ernst and Young (a reputable firm of auditors)
Smart Play Co.

17 different parties involved. And they are all conspiring? Some against their own best interests?

Do you not get how much money is on the line? E&Y generates 51B of revenue per year. That trumps the NBAs $11B. They aren't risking their entire reputation over a **** raft lottery.

[TheRaptor!]

IDK man - seems like a weak stance.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/heat-index/2017/05/04/magic-johnson-luke-walton-lakers-getting-top-nba-draft-pick/310665001/

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/15579286/dikembe-mutombo-congratulates-philadelphia-76ers-lottery-began

explain this please

[Psubs]

The Bulls franchise is fine. The Spurs without Wemby would've been Washington bad and Pop retire right away. Maybe they end up having to re-locate? I mean even if they got #2 Brandon Miller instead of Wemby.

[M3tro]

You'll "slow it down for me" explaining what I alredy know while inventing some **** because you like conpiracyies? LOL!

What did I invent chief?

I just gave a timeline of events lol.

If you didn't want the response, than don't respond to me and hit the block button bruthaaa

Your conclusion, and that there was any cHace Buffalo or the Leafs owuld allow it. Don't want to be called out for posting pure crazy (and completely unrelated) hit the block button.

Now who's inventing things?

I never said anything about the Leafs/Sabres blocking them from going to Hamilton; I said the NHL didn't want them moved out of Pittsburgh period.

Balsillie was never going to get the team as the NHL didn't like how cocky he was and never would have approved the sale to him.