NBA DRAFT LOTTERY GT, 12 MAY 2025, 6 PM CT, CHICAGO, ESPN

[Dan Z]

Umm, ok. So if the Bulls had rested players late in games and milked injuries, idk, maybe they'd pick 8th -10th? It's just a wild guess. Why?

You listed a group of players and said you needed 4 more to get to 12. That's why I asked, but now I wish I hadn't asked because it's pointless to talk to you about this.

Well yeah, the point is that this is about the draft and it's not as deep as I want it to be. Obviously if we were a crappier team we'd have a better pick and you don't need the draft to be as deep. I'm focused on the draft, not whether we milked injuries enough in the past.

I was just pointing out that we could've had a higher pick if it was a priority, but it wasn't.

The Bulls could try to trade up, but I have my doubts that Ayo or the Portland pick have much value.

[prolific passer]

Sucks what happen but Brooklyn has 4 first round picks?

[MrSparkle]

Watch Nico surprise us all and go Harper.

Seriously though, F the lottery. What a piss system.

Lebron to Cavs.
Rose to Bulls (yay, but unreal).

NOP loses CP3. Wins #1 AD with 8.8%.
NOP loses AD. Wins #1 Zion with 6%.

Wemby to Spurs (French connection).

Cavs won #1 after Lebron left (a bunch of them).

Even Lonzo to Lakers felt too fitting.

Getting tired of these convenient coincidences.

[League Circles]

I think I like Beringer and Bryant in my top 12. Too much physical potential to pass up.

[Red8911]

If Giddey doesnt hit the half court shot….the 11 slot is ours….

No Dallas was getting #1 pick regardless.

[HomoSapien]

It's the most Bulls thing ever to lose the coin toss that leads to Cooper Flagg.

[kulaz3000]

I don't know why we do this to ourselves, it's called the lottery for a reason.

I think I've been around the block way too many times to think that the lottery is rigged, or that if we had just lost a game or two, and then placed at the 11 spot, we would have still managed to get the number 1. I just refuse to believe that you change one thing, and the rest plays out exactly how it did.

That said, I think it's good for the Mavs. They are the biggest market team, but they are one of the biggest, and though I'm not happy for them exactly, I'm totally okay with them getting the number one pick and hopefully putting that Luka trade behind them. Hornets are going to forever suck, the Sixers don't deserve Flagg, and it would have been unfair to have Flagg team up with Wemby, so Mavs was the best result out of the 4 teams, at least in my eyes.

Good on them! Now lets see what transpires this off season, I'm hoping for the best, but until I'm proven otherwise, I just don't see our front office having the foresight or balls to make significant changes to the roster.

[TheSuzerain]

Cedric Coward is intriguing

[Wingy]

12 ain’t the worst place to be.

Plenty of chalk, group think JAGs like the non-Flagg Dukies always get taken in the 4-10ish range.

A top 3-5 player in this draft will be there if AK can capitalize. Doubt it will be nearly as obvious as Matas was though, so I don’t have any faith with Captain Very Good Players at the helm.

[Coldchi]

That is one moderately paid NBA referee. The NBA is a $100b organization made up of 30 billionaires who all have a vested interest in their teams succeeding.

Yep because billionaires who hire a commissioner (plausible deniaabliity) would never do things nefarious things to make more money.

they tend not to do foolish things that would cost them 100x more money if discovered

conspiracy theorists tend not to have any idea how it could actually be carried out. EVERY PERSON approached would have to stay silent whether agreeing to participate or not. which is a goddamn stupid risk to take

- cheapskate donald sterling's clippers won the lotto three times

- small market bucks won lotto twice. as did the t-wolves. as did the pels. as did the pathetic bullets/wizards

- the hawks won it last year w/ 3% chance. what a destination

- the jersey nets won it twice. what a destination

- any particular reason the kings won in '89?

- the magic won it FOUR times, only one of which has a credible conspiracy motive (pairing webber w/ shaq)

- this year is the first time the mavs have EVER improved their position in the lotto. on the flip side, the small-market spurs landed HOF talents tim duncan, david robinson AND wemby. now the league pivots to choose the mavs rather than a wemby/flagg pairing? ok

- was the league really eager to kickstart the pistons when they won the lotto in 2021? did they change their minds when the team fell to #5 in 3 consecutive lottos despite winning a total of only 64 games?

it's random, folks

As much as I wished It was random and things were fair... I ask one simple question.. why is the selection not televised? In today's climate where literally every thing is on screen why is it the nba hids this process .

[Am2626]

There never should have been a coin flip, just lose 1 more game and we would have been ahead of Dallas.
Hope that 1 game W was worth it!

Isn’t that something. I’d the Bulls lost 1 more game Flagg would be heading to Chicago. Actually if the Bulls didn’t try so hard to win games at the end of the year they probably finish where the Spurs did and get the number 2 pick. Mediocrity here we come!

[_txchilibowl_]

Yep because billionaires who hire a commissioner (plausible deniaabliity) would never do things nefarious things to make more money.

they tend not to do foolish things that would cost them 100x more money if discovered

conspiracy theorists tend not to have any idea how it could actually be carried out. EVERY PERSON approached would have to stay silent whether agreeing to participate or not. which is a goddamn stupid risk to take

- cheapskate donald sterling's clippers won the lotto three times

- small market bucks won lotto twice. as did the t-wolves. as did the pels. as did the pathetic bullets/wizards

- the hawks won it last year w/ 3% chance. what a destination

- the jersey nets won it twice. what a destination

- any particular reason the kings won in '89?

- the magic won it FOUR times, only one of which has a credible conspiracy motive (pairing webber w/ shaq)

- this year is the first time the mavs have EVER improved their position in the lotto. on the flip side, the small-market spurs landed HOF talents tim duncan, david robinson AND wemby. now the league pivots to choose the mavs rather than a wemby/flagg pairing? ok

- was the league really eager to kickstart the pistons when they won the lotto in 2021? did they change their minds when the team fell to #5 in 3 consecutive lottos despite winning a total of only 64 games?

it's random, folks

As much as I wished It was random and things were fair... I ask one simple question.. why is the selection not televised? In today's climate where literally every thing is on screen why is it the nba hids this process .

https://www.nba.com/news/nba-draft-faq

Because it would be incredibly tedious and boring.

[nomorezorro]

As much as I wished It was random and things were fair... I ask one simple question.. why is the selection not televised? In today's climate where literally every thing is on screen why is it the nba hids this process .

because there are 1000 lotto combinations and the process is less suspenseful when you ask an audience to follow which specific 4-number combinations their team has (with up to 140 different combinations assigned to each team). and because it's less suspenseful when the first pick is revealed first as opposed to revealing the picks in reverse order. and because the live drawings often have a round that produces no winner (because, say, a drawing for the 2nd pick could end up pulling a combo that belongs to the team that already won the 1st pick).

also, there are independent journalists who are present for the live drawing every year and openly discuss it after the fact so it's not a "hidden process"

[nomorezorro]

i am fascinated by the idea that the nba would be competent enough to carry out decades of institutional outcome fixing in a high-profile, high-revenue industry with heavy ties to gambling + government regulation etc. & have no smoking gun ever emerge, but simultaneously bad enough at doing it that after one event every year tens of thousands of people reflexively say "oh that was obviously rigged"

[Coldchi]

i am fascinated by the idea that the nba would be competent enough to carry out decades of institutional outcome fixing in a high-profile, high-revenue industry with heavy ties to gambling + government regulation etc. & have no smoking gun ever emerge, but simultaneously bad enough at doing it that after one event every year tens of thousands of people reflexively say "oh that was obviously rigged"

Never ever be amazed by the ability of someone to rig something they created. I'm sure they can make the live drawing of the lotto suspense full just like the actual lottery post the winning codes make all.the gms look to see if it matches there numbers then see real-time reactions of joy.

[BullsSD]

You all can continue crying about how the lottery is rigged, which I fully agree with. OR, we can discuss this year’s Matas Buzelis, which is our best case scenario. The answer, ladies and gentleman, is Rasheer F. Fleming.

https://youtu.be/rNniMOctM4k?si=qIohCgmRrvNo_Nl5

Good size.
Buzelis at the 3.
Great range.
Motor.
Competitor.

The question is do we trade back for him and stack assets? Or secure the prize. I think this is the fit AND the BPA. Miss me with an undersized center or a project at SF behind Buzelis or god forbid another guard. This is the way.


Edit: Am I crazy to say he’s a more athletic Naz Reid?

[nomorezorro]

i am fascinated by the idea that the nba would be competent enough to carry out decades of institutional outcome fixing in a high-profile, high-revenue industry with heavy ties to gambling + government regulation etc. & have no smoking gun ever emerge, but simultaneously bad enough at doing it that after one event every year tens of thousands of people reflexively say "oh that was obviously rigged"

Never ever be amazed by the ability of someone to rig something they created. I'm sure they can make the live drawing of the lotto suspense full just like the actual lottery post the winning codes make all.the gms look to see if it matches there numbers then see real-time reactions of joy.

oh they also post the recording of the draft lottery after the fact. so, you can go ahead and watch it to your hearts content soon enough. here's last year's:

Watch on YouTube

[WindyCityBorn]

Would be nice to trade up if possible. Anyone see an opportunity for that? I know it's a long shot, but could the Portland pick, Ayo, Ball or someone similar help us move up at all?

There is no point in trading up. 7-12 is crapshoot.

[WindyCityBorn]

We have no future unless Matas becomes a high tier star. This sucks.

[Jeffster81]

A part of me would

love to see Flagg pull his name from the draft just for the meltdown it was cause.

OTOH, I want Dallas to take Flagg and he becomes modern Christian Laettner.