8:45 ET: I’m not insinuating that the 1985 NBA lottery was rigged, but we were never absolutely sure of the lottery’s legitimacy until the “ping pong” era. Pretty safe to say that, after consecutive years of Milwaukee and Toronto having the top pick, the lottery is completely secure, fair, and unrigged.
(That being said, does anyone actually believe Memphis will get the top pick? Is it even possible that the two most marketable players in years would land in the barren wasteland of Memphis? Don’t think so. I’ll pay everyone a dollar if either Durant or Oden go to Memphis.)
8:48 ET: The Clippers, the Hornets, and the 76ers…doomed to be drafting in the 8-14 slot for the next 5 years unless some major tanking comes along.
8:50 ET: Boston is doomed for years to come. Sorry, Celtics fans. Can’t wait to see what Bill Simmons has to say about this. Al Jefferson just became their franchise player by default. I’m sure Danny Ainge is trying to package Paul Pierce and the number 5 pick for a top 2 pick this very second, and the other teams are laughing at their Blackberrys (or would that be Blackberries? Anyways…).
8:51 ET: What did I say about Memphis? They never had a chance.
8:53 ET: If you’re a Suns fan, you’re entire offseason just changed. You just lost a potential lottery pick, which you would have taken from the Atlanta Hawks in the Joe Johnson trade had it not been top 3. Instead, Atlanta slides into the top 3…where they picked Marvin Williams over Chris Paul two years ago. More on this later.
8:55 ET: The Pacific Northwest should go nuts tonight. Portland and Seattle steal the top two picks, pushing out Boston, Memphis, and the Bucks. What a crazy lottery.
First impressions:
- David Stern and company cannot be too happy. Portland and Seattle? Are there two less marketable cities that could have landed Oden and Durant? This is like Timmy going to San Antonio all over again.
- Portland just got A LOT better. The question is whether this puts Zach Randolph on the trading block somewhere down the road for a good point guard. Whereas Brandon Roy, Lamarcus Aldridge, and Greg Oden make for a great core, the team is missing a point guard badly (sorry, Jarrett Jack). If they get a mature point, they’ll be in the playoffs by 2009.
- Jon Barry has lost his mind if he actually believes Portland should trade Greg Oden.
- The teams accused of tanking the most (most notably Memphis) dropped out of the top 2. Karma, Grizzlies, karma.
- If Seattle lands Durant, there is no room for Rashard Lewis on that roster. Say goodbye to Lewis, because Durant should be starting from game number one.
- The NBA gods are laughing at Atlanta. They had their chance at Paul, and they blew it. There should be a 5 year span before they are allowed to draft in the top 2 again.
- Phoenix just lost a lot of flexibility in the offseason. They can no longer package an early pick with Marion or Amare if they try to break up they core. Also, if they do get rid of Marion, they can’t find someone in the draft to replace him. After Boston and Memphis, Phoenix was the biggest loser today.
Game time for Spurs fans, look for articles regarding the Spurs/Jazz soon.
1 comment:
Atlanta doesn't deserve any good picks. Nobody there gives a shit about basketball. When I lived there, my family and I would always go see the Spurs when they came into town and the few spurs fans there were a lot more entusiatic than any hawks fans. the seats are almost always mostly empty and people spend the whole time talking on their cell phones.
they're a braves town. and i hate baseball.
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