So it is rigged or not? I've heard mixed reporting.

5/14/2019 7:28:15 PM

Blazers in 6, we take game 1 3 4 6

5/14/2019 7:58:52 PM

Quote :

"#1 is going to be Knicks or Lakers. The NBA wants Zion in a big market."

oops

5/14/2019 8:59:25 PM

Guess it's not rigged. Pels suddenly have quite a bit to work with.

5/14/2019 9:00:23 PM

Zion should demand they move to Seattle or he’ll go back to Duke

5/14/2019 9:10:23 PM

I'm wondering if Davis will still want to leave. Obviously playing with Zion is more tempting than not playing with Zion, but he might still be ready for a change of scenery.

5/14/2019 9:11:01 PM

Crazy to look at at the last 20 years of lotteries and think it's rigged.

5/14/2019 9:14:23 PM

Pelicans fans should boo Davis every time he touches the ball if he ends up staying and re-signing

5/14/2019 9:15:47 PM

That sounds like a terrible idea

5/14/2019 9:21:48 PM

after how he treated them?

how is that a terrible idea?

5/14/2019 9:23:28 PM

how is endlessly booing the best player in franchise history because he was upset with management a bad idea? What exactly would it accomplish?

5/14/2019 9:25:06 PM

because he demanded a trade and then quit on the team

not that difficult

5/14/2019 9:26:06 PM

So again, what does that immature pettiness accomplish?

5/14/2019 9:26:55 PM

you’re right, he was incredibly immature and petty

5/14/2019 9:28:27 PM

Blaming Davis for that whole fiasco is laughable

5/14/2019 9:32:06 PM

he STILL doesn’t want to play there:

Quote :

"The New Orleans Pelicans are now set up to be Zion Williamson’s franchise to lift, and No. 1 pick could ease potential trade of Anthony Davis. His stance on a trade has not changed, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium."

http://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1128473892446789632

you arguing in favor of how he treated the team and fans is absurd and some of your best work yet. kudos.

5/14/2019 9:41:21 PM

How did he treat the fans?

5/14/2019 9:48:08 PM

Zion to New Orleans probably means his shoe deal is worth millions less than if he wound up in NY. Still has more money than God, but still. His shoe deal could rival LeBron's.

5/14/2019 10:08:41 PM

Quote :

"#1 is going to be Knicks or Lakers. The NBA wants Zion in a big market."

Wrong again

5/15/2019 8:43:46 AM

I think people screaming it's clearly not rigged because he didn't end up in a big market are a little short-sighted.

The NBA doesn't just want big market teams to excel. They want smaller market teams to do well too. This is the 2nd time the NBA has thrown NO a bone, frankly you'll never convince me the AD one wasn't rigged.

Then the entire changing of the lottery was to prevent tanking. Did you really think the NBA was going to let the Knicks or Lakers get that pick? The Cavs or Bulls? If they end up with the pick then it's only going to further encourage teams to tank, and it proves the changes the NBA implemented were ineffective and a waste of time. By allowing the top 2 picks to go to teams that weren't clearly tanking and didn't have the best odds, they think it shows their changes did something positive for the league(in their opinion).

Problem is...nothing they do will discourage tanking. The hope has to be that it'll encourage teams to not pull a Knicks and just phone in an entire season, but the flipside is I think you'll start to see teams that are fringe playoff teams realize late in the season they aren't going to make a run and they'll just tank hoping to get one of these top 4 picks.

5/15/2019 9:26:13 AM

I still want to know how the Lakers somehow luck up from 11th to 4th. Guess it would have been too obvious if they had gotten 1 or 2.

5/15/2019 10:09:00 AM

eh, getting 4th in this draft isn't really that much better than 11th. pretty big drop off in talent from 3 to 4.

5/15/2019 10:52:59 AM

^^ because it’s a lottery

Quote :

"I think people screaming it's clearly not rigged because he didn't end up in a big market are a little short-sighted. The NBA doesn't just want big market teams to excel. They want smaller market teams to do well too. This is the 2nd time the NBA has thrown NO a bone, frankly you'll never convince me the AD one wasn't rigged. Then the entire changing of the lottery was to prevent tanking. Did you really think the NBA was going to let the Knicks or Lakers get that pick? The Cavs or Bulls? If they end up with the pick then it's only going to further encourage teams to tank, and it proves the changes the NBA implemented were ineffective and a waste of time. By allowing the top 2 picks to go to teams that weren't clearly tanking and didn't have the best odds, they think it shows their changes did something positive for the league(in their opinion). "

come on, man

it isn’t done in a smoke-filled room with no witnesses

5/15/2019 11:11:30 AM

Quote :

"I think people screaming it's clearly not rigged because he didn't end up in a big market are a little short-sighted. The NBA doesn't just want big market teams to excel. They want smaller market teams to do well too. "

in other words, no matter the outcome of the lottery people are still gonna find a way to point at it as being rigged.

5/15/2019 1:33:53 PM

and they deserve to be called out for their stupidity every time

5/15/2019 1:50:42 PM

NBA IS RIGGED

5/15/2019 2:37:09 PM

Serious question Luda or other people thinking it’s rigged... what outcome could there have been that wouldn’t have looked rigged to you/people that claim it’s rigged?

5/15/2019 2:41:43 PM

I think it's just optics and the dubious nature of sports in general being 'fair' (gambling and point shaving HAVE been known issues...) I mean yeah, the lottery ball thing could be 'rigged' just as easily if the league really wanted to.

In the end, tanking doesn't seem to really work. That is, until it does, but even then, it's not the greatest strategy to build a winning franchise. It's a strategy that appears to rely way too heavily on luck. Having competent coaches/GMs along with talented players who 'buy into' whatever is being sold seems to work pretty well though. At least for a handful of franchises who can do it consistently.

5/16/2019 6:36:48 PM

Quote :

"tanking doesn't seem to really work. "

Uh no. Tanking is the best way to build a team, especially for small market teams. For them it's basically the only way because top tier free agents aren't going to sign to play in places like Charlotte or Milwaukee or Memphis. It's pretty effective so long as ownership is patient and doesn't bail on the plan halfway through.

Also I think that corruption in the NBA under Silver isn't a serious issue. Definitely think Stern had his hand in a lot more shady behind the scenes stuff (i.e. I think he fixed the lottery multiple times in the past as well as many gambling issues *cough* Michael Jordan *cough*)

5/16/2019 6:57:22 PM

Please provide a recent example where a team has successfully tanked their way to a title.

I don't want to get into another semantics pissing match though, so I'm defining success as championships from the get.

5/16/2019 7:00:28 PM

It's insanity to design championship as the singular definition of success, especially for a small market team. You obviously need luck and lots of other things to go your way as well, but high draft picks are easily the best way to aquire a superstar, and you can't win in the NBA without at least one.

Also you first said "a winning franchise" then changed to "championship" in the next post.

5/16/2019 7:34:24 PM

In my first post, I also said it didn't work, until it does.

Clearly it has some potential upsides (assuming it actually works), but the league clearly doesn't like it and short of 'rigging' it outright, they've unquestionably tried to make it tougher.

5/16/2019 7:38:54 PM

the Warriors tanked before their title run

5/16/2019 8:07:51 PM

If it didn't work, teams wouldn't do it. And if teams didn't do it, the NBA wouldn't have changed the lottery.

It doesn't work when you have an incompetent front office (like the perennially shitty Suns.)

5/16/2019 8:31:44 PM

^^Winding up with Harrison Barnes as a 7th pick is not at all the same thing as trying to land Zion Williams, although did end up working out for them since Curry was hurt and they weren't going anywhere anyway.

Philly is probably the best example what comes to mind in terms of 'effective' tanking, but it hasn't worked out for them so far, has it?



[Edited on May 16, 2019 at 8:36 PM. Reason : Draymond was a 2nd rounder]

5/16/2019 8:36:06 PM

how many picks did Philly completely whiff on before they finally got Embiid

5/16/2019 8:40:28 PM

tanking isn’t just about drafting high

it’s also about getting many assets as you can with the possibility of flipping them

5/16/2019 8:59:33 PM

I don't hate ESPN's team, but man they are just so weak compared to the TNT crew

5/16/2019 10:19:36 PM

Damn, that’s was awesome.

5/16/2019 11:36:11 PM

that defense was incredible

5/16/2019 11:37:43 PM

That was the blazers shot at it

5/17/2019 4:10:48 PM

At winning the series, probably. They’ll likely win one or two at home though.

5/17/2019 6:10:31 PM

I've got a bet going with a coworker that the blazers-warriors goes at least 6 games, while he thinks 5 or less. I was feeling good until midway through the 4th quarter last night

5/17/2019 6:43:08 PM

so proud of muh Dubs for dealing with the adversity of not having KD

5/18/2019 11:29:18 PM

Now now, Blazers are still in it. Win 4 straight or something

5/18/2019 11:41:57 PM

Third quarter of game 3 killed this series

5/19/2019 12:04:56 AM

Game 1,2, or 3?

5/19/2019 12:10:42 AM

Fair point

5/19/2019 12:27:51 AM

Lmao KD is the most "mad online" player ever
https://twitter.com/PrimeNickKerr/status/1129961380000362496?s=19

5/19/2019 8:32:41 AM

This Steph Curry guy is pretty good

5/20/2019 10:15:40 PM