Wembanyama. I'm concerned

[rickxdel]

The people who believe the NBA draft is rigged are too (Please Use More Appropriate Word) to understand that Ernst and Young runs the draft lotto. Why would a company 100 times the size of the NBA ruin their reputation just to put X player in Y location? And if they are doing it, why is it usually small market teams winning? The smallest market in the NBA won Davis and Zion, two of the biggest prospects in history. The other notable prospects that went #1 overall in recent memory went to Cleveland, San Antonio, and Portland.

It’s literally the most (Please Use More Appropriate Word) conspiracy ever, it makes no sense. Even working backwards from the results and making up evidence to support the results is ridiculous, but the results indicate that it’s clearly NOT rigged, because the results are counter productive to the NBA

Lebron going to hometown Cle
Rose going to hometown team Chicago
Cle getting Kyrie and Andrew Wiggins after losing Lebron
AD going to New Orleans rigth after they lost Chris Paul
Zion going to New Orleans after they lost AD

Too many coincidences for it to not be rigged to some degree, and the argument that it doesnt make sense for them to rig it for small markets does not hold up, it makes sense that the NBA would want to prop up these small markets, and the opportunity to market all their teams with cant-miss prospects since they almost never go there in FA.

[zimpy27]

The people who believe the NBA draft is rigged are too (Please Use More Appropriate Word) to understand that Ernst and Young runs the draft lotto. Why would a company 100 times the size of the NBA ruin their reputation just to put X player in Y location? And if they are doing it, why is it usually small market teams winning? The smallest market in the NBA won Davis and Zion, two of the biggest prospects in history. The other notable prospects that went #1 overall in recent memory went to Cleveland, San Antonio, and Portland.

It’s literally the most (Please Use More Appropriate Word) conspiracy ever, it makes no sense. Even working backwards from the results and making up evidence to support the results is ridiculous, but the results indicate that it’s clearly NOT rigged, because the results are counter productive to the NBA

Lebron going to hometown Cle
Rose going to hometown team Chicago
Cle getting Kyrie and Andrew Wiggins after losing Lebron
AD going to New Orleans rigth after they lost Chris Paul
Zion going to New Orleans after they lost AD

Too many coincidences for it to not be rigged to some degree, and the argument that it doesnt make sense for them to rig it for small markets does not hold up, it makes sense that the NBA would want to prop up these small markets, and the opportunity to market all their teams with cant-miss prospects since they almost never go there in FA.

Lebron going to hometown Cle
Rose going to hometown team Chicago
Cle getting Kyrie and Andrew Wiggins after losing Lebron
AD going to New Orleans rigth after they lost Chris Paul
Zion going to New Orleans after they lost AD

All of these coincidences can be summed up as: terrible team gets top draft pick (shock, horror)

Most guys drafted number 1 have a hometown team.. So 2 of those teams got the number 1 pick in the last 20 years. That's not even considering that those hometown teams actively tanked to get the highly rated hometown kid because it's good for their business.

[Meat]

That's literally what I'm saying. Things were framed in the media as if Pop has some kind of special track record with developing bigs because of his runs with Robinson and Duncan and that Wemby belongs there to follow suit . We are seeing how he might not actually have a clue at all how to develop a truly raw big. He's certainly doing him no favors so far. That was my point. There's no evidence Pop is any more qualified for this role than anyone else and already a pile that he's losing it. Spurs should be having some tough convos internally imo

Who’s this magical big whisperer they’re going to replace him with?

Someone that isn't fully cooked running randoms at pg

You get he’s not trying to win right ?

[Meat]

The people who believe the NBA draft is rigged are too (Please Use More Appropriate Word) to understand that Ernst and Young runs the draft lotto. Why would a company 100 times the size of the NBA ruin their reputation just to put X player in Y location? And if they are doing it, why is it usually small market teams winning? The smallest market in the NBA won Davis and Zion, two of the biggest prospects in history. The other notable prospects that went #1 overall in recent memory went to Cleveland, San Antonio, and Portland.

It’s literally the most (Please Use More Appropriate Word) conspiracy ever, it makes no sense. Even working backwards from the results and making up evidence to support the results is ridiculous, but the results indicate that it’s clearly NOT rigged, because the results are counter productive to the NBA

Lebron going to hometown Cle
Rose going to hometown team Chicago
Cle getting Kyrie and Andrew Wiggins after losing Lebron
AD going to New Orleans rigth after they lost Chris Paul
Zion going to New Orleans after they lost AD

Too many coincidences for it to not be rigged to some degree, and the argument that it doesnt make sense for them to rig it for small markets does not hold up, it makes sense that the NBA would want to prop up these small markets, and the opportunity to market all their teams with cant-miss prospects since they almost never go there in FA.

Which one is it? Make sure small town teams(is Chicago a small town?) gets a can’t miss player or make sure home teams gets their home town prospect?

Wouldn’t you want international prospects in the coast closest to their home country for the madness like the mlb got with ichiro ?

[baldur]

Conspiracy theories don't need evidence nor care about them.

Even all the historical facts would prove the conspiracy theories wrong, they would be still fixated on their delusional thoughts and beliefs no matter what.

Conspiracy theorists are people you should never try to reason with, and convince . Cos it's the most impossible thing to achieve.

[firedavidkahn]

The people who believe the NBA draft is rigged are too (Please Use More Appropriate Word) to understand that Ernst and Young runs the draft lotto. Why would a company 100 times the size of the NBA ruin their reputation just to put X player in Y location? And if they are doing it, why is it usually small market teams winning? The smallest market in the NBA won Davis and Zion, two of the biggest prospects in history. The other notable prospects that went #1 overall in recent memory went to Cleveland, San Antonio, and Portland.

It’s literally the most (Please Use More Appropriate Word) conspiracy ever, it makes no sense. Even working backwards from the results and making up evidence to support the results is ridiculous, but the results indicate that it’s clearly NOT rigged, because the results are counter productive to the NBA

Lebron going to hometown Cle
Rose going to hometown team Chicago
Cle getting Kyrie and Andrew Wiggins after losing Lebron
AD going to New Orleans rigth after they lost Chris Paul
Zion going to New Orleans after they lost AD

Too many coincidences for it to not be rigged to some degree, and the argument that it doesnt make sense for them to rig it for small markets does not hold up, it makes sense that the NBA would want to prop up these small markets, and the opportunity to market all their teams with cant-miss prospects since they almost never go there in FA.

Don't forget Edwards going to Minnesota.

NBA had to pay us back for losing Robert Covington and James Johnson

[rickxdel]

The people who believe the NBA draft is rigged are too (Please Use More Appropriate Word) to understand that Ernst and Young runs the draft lotto. Why would a company 100 times the size of the NBA ruin their reputation just to put X player in Y location? And if they are doing it, why is it usually small market teams winning? The smallest market in the NBA won Davis and Zion, two of the biggest prospects in history. The other notable prospects that went #1 overall in recent memory went to Cleveland, San Antonio, and Portland.

It’s literally the most (Please Use More Appropriate Word) conspiracy ever, it makes no sense. Even working backwards from the results and making up evidence to support the results is ridiculous, but the results indicate that it’s clearly NOT rigged, because the results are counter productive to the NBA

Lebron going to hometown Cle
Rose going to hometown team Chicago
Cle getting Kyrie and Andrew Wiggins after losing Lebron
AD going to New Orleans rigth after they lost Chris Paul
Zion going to New Orleans after they lost AD

Too many coincidences for it to not be rigged to some degree, and the argument that it doesnt make sense for them to rig it for small markets does not hold up, it makes sense that the NBA would want to prop up these small markets, and the opportunity to market all their teams with cant-miss prospects since they almost never go there in FA.

Don't forget Edwards going to Minnesota.

NBA had to pay us back for losing Robert Covington and James Johnson

Well idk about Minnesota getting first pick being a rigged situation, but interesting how GS got the 2nd pick that year after one dismal season and fresh off the dynasty run they already had

[JN61]

Chet had another shooting great game last night. Still waiting for this guy to develope a shot.

[Dadouv47]

Chet had another shooting great game last night. Still waiting for this guy to develope a shot.

you do what you want but I don't think it's worth doing this. Any casual fan that watch the NBA can see that Chet is way ahead Wemby right now but let's not forget that Wemby is 2 years younger and used to play in a terrible league. Sky is the limit for him.
As a Thunder fan I just enjoy watching Chet developing into potentially a superstar and I have little to no doubt that Wemby is gonna be a problem to us in the next 10+ years.

[peZt]

The people who believe the NBA draft is rigged are too (Please Use More Appropriate Word) to understand that Ernst and Young runs the draft lotto. Why would a company 100 times the size of the NBA ruin their reputation just to put X player in Y location? And if they are doing it, why is it usually small market teams winning? The smallest market in the NBA won Davis and Zion, two of the biggest prospects in history. The other notable prospects that went #1 overall in recent memory went to Cleveland, San Antonio, and Portland.

It’s literally the most (Please Use More Appropriate Word) conspiracy ever, it makes no sense. Even working backwards from the results and making up evidence to support the results is ridiculous, but the results indicate that it’s clearly NOT rigged, because the results are counter productive to the NBA

Lebron going to hometown Cle
Rose going to hometown team Chicago
Cle getting Kyrie and Andrew Wiggins after losing Lebron
AD going to New Orleans rigth after they lost Chris Paul
Zion going to New Orleans after they lost AD

Too many coincidences for it to not be rigged to some degree, and the argument that it doesnt make sense for them to rig it for small markets does not hold up, it makes sense that the NBA would want to prop up these small markets, and the opportunity to market all their teams with cant-miss prospects since they almost never go there in FA.

Lebron going to hometown Cle
Rose going to hometown team Chicago
Cle getting Kyrie and Andrew Wiggins after losing Lebron
AD going to New Orleans rigth after they lost Chris Paul
Zion going to New Orleans after they lost AD

All of these coincidences can be summed up as: terrible team gets top draft pick (shock, horror)

Most guys drafted number 1 have a hometown team.. So 2 of those teams got the number 1 pick in the last 20 years. That's not even considering that those hometown teams actively tanked to get the highly rated hometown kid because it's good for their business.

Zion going to NO is proof enough that NO fixing exists

Zion was the most hyped prospect since LeBron. After getting drafted by the Pels, his hype level dropped from 100 to 0 basically over night. He literally vanished from the mainstream media outlets. And that year the KNicks were drafting 2nd. If fixing exists, the NBA would have made sure that the next face of the league and the most hyped prospect since LeBron would go to the Knicks and not to the most irrelevant franchise in the league. The last thing the NBA wanted was for Zion to get drafted by the Pels

The NBA is all about money and nothing else. Why would they actively send their most hyped prospects to the most irrelevant franchsies out there?

[The Laker Kid]

Let's put this into context. Lebron has been playing in the NBA for 6 months when Wemby was born. This illustrates 2 things: 1. Lebron is old AF, and 2. Wemby is young as hell. You expect a 19 yr old kid to *instantly* school players around him who are 5-10-15 years older than him? Seriously, give the kid some break. I'd be more concerned about Ben Simmons or Zion right now.

[Bornstellar]

Wemby with a double double double (22/11) with 4 blocks and 6 steals last night. People need to stop focusing on his shooting % only. Kid is doing special stuff out there and all we hear about is his shooting percentage

[SNPA]

Wemby with a double double double (22/11) with 4 blocks and 6 steals last night. People need to stop focusing on his shooting % only. Kid is doing special stuff out there and all we hear about is his shooting percentage

This.

Drop the rest and enjoy. This kid is next level.

[zimpy27]

Wemby with a double double double (22/11) with 4 blocks and 6 steals last night. People need to stop focusing on his shooting % only. Kid is doing special stuff out there and all we hear about is his shooting percentage

It's been non-stop on here about his offense..

Man's a DPOY level defender as a rookie and the discussion has been about his offense ranging from Durant to Westbrick-level.

Maybe he's just too good defensively that it's hard to even comment on

[ForeverTFC]

Wemby with a double double double (22/11) with 4 blocks and 6 steals last night. People need to stop focusing on his shooting % only. Kid is doing special stuff out there and all we hear about is his shooting percentage

I honestly think it's better for the casual fan to write off Wemby so the guy can develop in peace. The best thing that could happen for Wemby is for the KD comps to die off. Then he can focus on becoming an efficient 20/10 player with DPOY potential and 50+ obscene highlights a year.

[BigGargamel]

Wemby is pretty much a lock to be a top 5 player in the nba during his prime. Scott Hastings said it well last night. Wemby doesn’t even know how to play basketball yet. Once he learns he’s going to be absolutely amazing. Pretty much every player who has played against him has said the same thing. I’ll listen to them over fans who overreact because he’s not a 19 year old MVP leading a terrible team to the playoffs.

The absolute only worry is his body holding up. Health permitting, he is going to be an all time great.

[zero rings]

I'm consistently impressed with him when I watch him, even last night there were several times Steph got him on an island and danced with him only to pass it or get a highly contested shot.

On offense he does hang out on the perimeter a lot when he's playing with Collins, but when they play him at C you get glimpses of what he will be which is a complete nightmare matchup where he's playing inside & outside. Those drives and post ups where he gets stood up now will become plays where he just powers through guys and shoots right over them, you can see the foundation of that for when his body matures.

He's the best 19 yr old big I have ever seen, nobody is really comparable at that age. Just knowing that bigs take longer to develop because their bodies have to catch up, he's going to be the best player in the league in a short time, if healthy.

Better than Doncic at age 19? I don t think so...

Luka's not a big.

It's been 22 years since a rookie 7 footer was rookie of the year, that was Pau and he was 21. It takes these guys longer to develop, look at Embiids or Jokic rookie years compared to what they are now, or even just compare what Embiid was at Kansas when he was the same age as Vic now.

Chet (21 yrs old) could win rookie of the year, he and Vic are rarities for young bigs. Guards and wings can hit the ground running, bigs are slow cookers compared to them. E

Is this really true? Jokic was damn good as a rookie, he just wasn't getting the minutes and touches due to being a second round pick. He crushes Wemby in both box score and impact metrics.

Embiid was also really good at Kansas, but again, minutes and touches held him back from putting up big counting stats. If he had played his rookie year he would have been better than Wemby, too. These guys were not raw, they just needed a bigger opportunity.

Wemby on the other hand is getting plenty of opportunity and just hasn't looked very good. He's a poor shooter and a poor decision maker, and he lacks the strength to impose his will offensively. Maybe those issues will go away with age and experience, but NBA history suggests they will linger with him in some capacity throughout his career.

Just because he's young doesn't mean we can't evaluate his current play or use it to make predictions.

[NoDopeOnSundays]

Better than Doncic at age 19? I don t think so...

Luka's not a big.

It's been 22 years since a rookie 7 footer was rookie of the year, that was Pau and he was 21. It takes these guys longer to develop, look at Embiids or Jokic rookie years compared to what they are now, or even just compare what Embiid was at Kansas when he was the same age as Vic now.

Chet (21 yrs old) could win rookie of the year, he and Vic are rarities for young bigs. Guards and wings can hit the ground running, bigs are slow cookers compared to them. E

Is this really true? Jokic was damn good as a rookie, he just wasn't getting the minutes and touches due to being a second round pick. He crushes Wemby in both box score and impact metrics.

Embiid was also really good at Kansas, but again, minutes and touches held him back from putting up big counting stats. If he had played his rookie year he would have been better than Wemby, too. These guys were not raw, they just needed a bigger opportunity.

Wemby on the other hand is getting plenty of opportunity and just hasn't looked very good. He's a poor shooter and a poor decision maker, and he lacks the strength to impose his will offensively. Maybe those issues will go away with age and experience, but NBA history suggests they will linger with him in some capacity throughout his career.

Just because he's young doesn't mean we can't evaluate his current play or use it to make predictions.

Jokic was 20 and turned 21 February of his rookie season, Embiid was 22 and had 2 yrs to develop his body (250 at Kansas 280 as a rookie) before he ever stepped foot on an NBA court. He was very good at Kansas and rapidly improving as a player but if you took him at 19 turning 20 and plopped him into the NBA he would have been coming off the bench. We don't know what Jokic would have done at 19-20 either, you can only speculate.


Wemby has a little too much freedom on offense but that seems to be by design which I don't agree with and he's hamstrung by a coach playing another player out of positions. He has warts like everyone else, but he's younger than those other guys were, so it's not a direct comparison. Big guys generally do take longer to develop, almost all the greats prior to Shaq spent 4 yrs at school and even he stayed 3 years, since we switched to the 1 and done era American bigs have seen a massive drop in quality. While the foreign bigs take more time working on their fundamentals, there's a reason they have closed the gap and are now producing better big men.

[TheGeneral99]

The people who believe the NBA draft is rigged are too (Please Use More Appropriate Word) to understand that Ernst and Young runs the draft lotto. Why would a company 100 times the size of the NBA ruin their reputation just to put X player in Y location? And if they are doing it, why is it usually small market teams winning? The smallest market in the NBA won Davis and Zion, two of the biggest prospects in history. The other notable prospects that went #1 overall in recent memory went to Cleveland, San Antonio, and Portland.

It’s literally the most (Please Use More Appropriate Word) conspiracy ever, it makes no sense. Even working backwards from the results and making up evidence to support the results is ridiculous, but the results indicate that it’s clearly NOT rigged, because the results are counter productive to the NBA

Lebron going to hometown Cle
Rose going to hometown team Chicago
Cle getting Kyrie and Andrew Wiggins after losing Lebron
AD going to New Orleans rigth after they lost Chris Paul
Zion going to New Orleans after they lost AD

Too many coincidences for it to not be rigged to some degree, and the argument that it doesnt make sense for them to rig it for small markets does not hold up, it makes sense that the NBA would want to prop up these small markets, and the opportunity to market all their teams with cant-miss prospects since they almost never go there in FA.

Do you think these billionaire owners who each have a stake in this league would simply let the commissioner rig the draft process.

What about Banchero to Orlando, or Cunningham to Detroit, or Edwards to Minny, or Deandre to Phoenix, or Fultz and Simmons to Philly...what is the significance of those picks?

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 2023 NBA Draft, which will be held on Thursday, June 22.

[benson13]

Wemby with a double double double (22/11) with 4 blocks and 6 steals last night. People need to stop focusing on his shooting % only. Kid is doing special stuff out there and all we hear about is his shooting percentage

His shooting percentages are a concern. Even more, his poor three point shooting is a concern given how the number of threes he's attempting.