Draft lottery in 3 days.

[Zin5]

I'd like to see it go...

1. Thunder - Still had a dearth of talent last year, but didn't obviously tank like a lot of others, plus the Griffin/Durant pairing for the next decade is sexy.
2. Timberwolves - Another team in need of talent that didn't tank and they could really use Rubio in the backcourt with Foye to help out Big Al.
3. Wizards - Didn't tank that much, but still a team in a good situation that could add any of Thabeet, Harden, or Hill and see an improvement or move the pick to help them out.

The Kings are my third favorite team, so I wouldn't mind them slipping in there and taking Rubio or moving back and taking Jennings.

EDIT: Also, I don't like the idea of the Knicks slipping into the top three. Yeah, conspiracy and all, but I really like the idea of Curry going there. At the very worst he can fill a Barbosa type role in D'Antoni's system immediately and maybe has the potential to develop into a Steve Nash type point guard on the run. I think that's the ideal situation for him.

Which teams do you think tanked? I didn't notice much tanking this season.

Of the lottery teams, I'd say the Kings with the trades they pulled (like Memphis last year with Gasol, just not to the same degree) and the Clippers with their just absolute lack of care. The Warriors to an extent too imo, early on with giving UFAs time when Ellis was out. This year's been mostly clean compared to some of the past several years.

[floyd]

HOW THEY RIG THE LOTTERY:

1-They assign number combinations to teams (in the 2007 draft, every Celtic number combo had the no.1 or no.2 in it)---Wyc said, he knew they didn't win without even checking our numbers-cause neither 1 or 2 came out.....They SHOULD assign random,out of order numbers.

If the drawing is random, this makes no difference. It would simply make assigning team to odds much more complicated.

This is how the TOP 3 worst teams did NOT even get into the top 3 picks--an almost IMPOSSIBLE feat if they ran the drawing with the REGULAR BALLS....Stern wanted to PUNISH all 3 teams for TANKING the final weeks of the season--Which ALL of the teams did.

If I remember correctly, the odds of this happening were abot 5%. 1 in 20 is hardly impossible.

[chakdaddy]

HOW THEY RIG THE LOTTERY:

1-They assign number combinations to teams (in the 2007 draft, every Celtic number combo had the no.1 or no.2 in it)---Wyc said, he knew they didn't win without even checking our numbers-cause neither 1 or 2 came out.....They SHOULD assign random,out of order numbers.

If the drawing is random, this makes no difference. It would simply make assigning team to odds much more complicated.

But if there is any difference in the balls, intentional or not, it does make a difference. That is definitely the sort of thing that should be randomized if they were really trying to be careful.

[MaxwellSmart]

EXACTLY-----if you weighted Balls no.1 & 2....Assigning THOSE numbers to teams you DON'T want to win would work perfectly...like it did in 2007............Air blows the balls UPWARDS......So, if the balls were NOT WEIGHTED-----WHY DO THEY SWITCH THE BALLS RIGHT BEFORE THE ACTUAL DRAWING????

[chakdaddy]

Forget weighting them, I assumed they made balls 1 and 2 too big to even come out of the hopper!

[Celtsfan1980]

I'm looking forward to tonight. Let's say the Knicks get the top pick. Rubio can't shoot, and I don't believe Griffin has much range. Assuming they're looking at Lebron and D. Wade, who do you see them drafting? On paper a team of Lebron, Wade, and Griffin looks dominant but obviously they need to spread the floor better. Does Thabeet make the most sense since Centers are hardest to find?

[DelMonte West]

It'd be interesting if the Wolves get the #1. What would that do to the Love/Jefferson combo? I'd say all 3 are certainly starter-calibur at the very least.

In any case I just don't want the Clippers to win it. That whole team exists only as a lottery magnet to decrease the chances of other teams getting a top pick. Pathetic.