The Wheel and getting rid of the Lottery

Wow… I really like that there are some proposals coming out, but this system has so many flaws I don’t even know where to start…

Wow… I really like that there are some proposals coming out, but this system has so many flaws I don’t even know where to start…

So in other words this would limit less fortunate small market teams to building through trades alone. 

The article states that the nba is the most predictable major sport, I can’t help but think this would make the nba even more predictable.

So in other words this would limit less fortunate small market teams to building through trades alone. 

The article states that the nba is the most predictable major sport, I can’t help but think this would make the nba even more predictable.

I don’t think there is anything inherently wrong about the draft lottery.  Although I wish the drawing were live, but I can see why they don’t do that.  The way they do it now builds suspense. 

I think it would be cool though if they made the lotto like THE DECISION.  Get team reps and even some of the top guys in one room, have satellites in the bad teams’ cities to catch their fans, and then do the drawing LIVE on TV.  Then we all know who as the first pick. 

Then we would still wait to find out who has the second pick, then who has the third pick, etc.

Other than the format, I think the draft lottery is pretty good.  Obviously it is better when your team wins the lottery (Rockets, Magic, Spurs, Bulls, Cavs).  I might want to give the worst team slightly better odds — maybe 30%.  Then I might give EVERY team in the league at least a chance to win.  Maybe like half a percent each or something like that.  Don’t give teams a disincentive to make the playoffs.  Don’t make it where losing a few games to go from a 43 win team to a 40 win team makes a whole bunch of difference. 

Basically, make it more fair for the worst team.  Then make it where the worst 4 or 5 teams have the best odds to win it.  For mediocre teams, the odds should be similar — 35 win teams and 42 win teams shouldn’t be that far apart.  And, give every team in the league at least an outside shot for a top 3 pick.  That way, teams don’t get punished for being really good every year. 

Another thing I would like to see is each NBA team have its own D League team.  So we could have a place where rookies can play.  Then I would expand the draft to 3 rounds.  A third round would allow smart teams who can draft well a shot at stockpiling young, undervalued players. 

I don’t think there is anything inherently wrong about the draft lottery.  Although I wish the drawing were live, but I can see why they don’t do that.  The way they do it now builds suspense. 

I think it would be cool though if they made the lotto like THE DECISION.  Get team reps and even some of the top guys in one room, have satellites in the bad teams’ cities to catch their fans, and then do the drawing LIVE on TV.  Then we all know who as the first pick. 

Then we would still wait to find out who has the second pick, then who has the third pick, etc.

Other than the format, I think the draft lottery is pretty good.  Obviously it is better when your team wins the lottery (Rockets, Magic, Spurs, Bulls, Cavs).  I might want to give the worst team slightly better odds — maybe 30%.  Then I might give EVERY team in the league at least a chance to win.  Maybe like half a percent each or something like that.  Don’t give teams a disincentive to make the playoffs.  Don’t make it where losing a few games to go from a 43 win team to a 40 win team makes a whole bunch of difference. 

Basically, make it more fair for the worst team.  Then make it where the worst 4 or 5 teams have the best odds to win it.  For mediocre teams, the odds should be similar — 35 win teams and 42 win teams shouldn’t be that far apart.  And, give every team in the league at least an outside shot for a top 3 pick.  That way, teams don’t get punished for being really good every year. 

Another thing I would like to see is each NBA team have its own D League team.  So we could have a place where rookies can play.  Then I would expand the draft to 3 rounds.  A third round would allow smart teams who can draft well a shot at stockpiling young, undervalued players. 

 The draft lottery is a bit flawed, but it trumps this proposal IMO. 

Why not do what the NFL and MLB already do – base draft position on team records? Sure, this would probably make things less competitive, as teams would be trying even harder to tank because they know if they have the worst record they are guaranteed the #1 pick, but it would be more fair than the lottery system. 

 The draft lottery is a bit flawed, but it trumps this proposal IMO. 

Why not do what the NFL and MLB already do – base draft position on team records? Sure, this would probably make things less competitive, as teams would be trying even harder to tank because they know if they have the worst record they are guaranteed the #1 pick, but it would be more fair than the lottery system. 

They have to find some way to ban Michael Jordan from any executive job in the Nba permanently, then this might work.

Jokes aside, I like the idea Chad Ford has suggested many times, determining draft order (or the odds of the picks or even better just some of them) basing on last 3 years results. This way genuinely bad teams would still have a chance to get better, while tanking plans should be long term ones (thus unlikely).

They have to find some way to ban Michael Jordan from any executive job in the Nba permanently, then this might work.

Jokes aside, I like the idea Chad Ford has suggested many times, determining draft order (or the odds of the picks or even better just some of them) basing on last 3 years results. This way genuinely bad teams would still have a chance to get better, while tanking plans should be long term ones (thus unlikely).

 An interesting idea but could it encourage a lot of players to maybe wait a year or two more to declare if the big market clubs had top picks coming up.

I’d love to see the draft lottery shown as the balls are drawn out, imagine the reaction to the Executive who gets first choice of Wiggins, Parker etc.

 An interesting idea but could it encourage a lot of players to maybe wait a year or two more to declare if the big market clubs had top picks coming up.

I’d love to see the draft lottery shown as the balls are drawn out, imagine the reaction to the Executive who gets first choice of Wiggins, Parker etc.

 I think they should use the wheel but apply it to the teams that are non playoff teams. Then with the playoff teams keep the same alignment and order them by record.

It will keep teams from tanking as much because odds wont change whether your a 1 or 10 spot, and it should be done on live TV for everyone to see. The real question is the order that they choose 14 down to 1 or 1 to 14.

 I think they should use the wheel but apply it to the teams that are non playoff teams. Then with the playoff teams keep the same alignment and order them by record.

It will keep teams from tanking as much because odds wont change whether your a 1 or 10 spot, and it should be done on live TV for everyone to see. The real question is the order that they choose 14 down to 1 or 1 to 14.

How will David Stern rig the lottery 30 years in advance?

How will David Stern rig the lottery 30 years in advance?

Personally, I’m fine with the draft lottery if they would just do the whole process out on live TV.  Show us the balls, show us them loading the balls into the cage thing, and then show us them picking them out.

On a sidenote, it would be interesting if they did the lottery for all 14 picks rather than just the top 3.

And I think they should simplify how many balls each team gets.  Worst team gets 14 balls, 2nd worst gets 13, and you keep going from there so that the best non-playoff team gets 1 ball.  Then, the worst team still has the best chance of getting the 1st pick, but it’s only a 13% chance compared to the 25% chance they currently have.

Personally, I’m fine with the draft lottery if they would just do the whole process out on live TV.  Show us the balls, show us them loading the balls into the cage thing, and then show us them picking them out.

On a sidenote, it would be interesting if they did the lottery for all 14 picks rather than just the top 3.

And I think they should simplify how many balls each team gets.  Worst team gets 14 balls, 2nd worst gets 13, and you keep going from there so that the best non-playoff team gets 1 ball.  Then, the worst team still has the best chance of getting the 1st pick, but it’s only a 13% chance compared to the 25% chance they currently have.

 After reading that proposal, I’m fine with the lottery. 

 After reading that proposal, I’m fine with the lottery. 

The worst part is that some years you have a LOADED draft at the top like this one, or the ’08 draft with Rose, Love, and Westbrook, or the LeBron Draft that also had Carmelo and D Wade.  Sometimes the draft is great.  Other drafts stink, like the 2000 draft or the Andrea Bargnani draft. 

Getting the top pick in a great draft really helps.  Getting the top pick in a bad draft — not so much.

The worst part is that some years you have a LOADED draft at the top like this one, or the ’08 draft with Rose, Love, and Westbrook, or the LeBron Draft that also had Carmelo and D Wade.  Sometimes the draft is great.  Other drafts stink, like the 2000 draft or the Andrea Bargnani draft. 

Getting the top pick in a great draft really helps.  Getting the top pick in a bad draft — not so much.

Best idea I’ve heard on this is to keep the lottery, but determine the number of ping-pong balls based on a teams’ record for the past 5 (or 3) seasons instead of just the current one. Prevents tanking, but also means we’ll never see another Duncan to the Spurs type miracle draft acquisition by an otherwise good team beset by injuries. Not sure if that’s a good or bad thing honestly…Spurs have been pretty good for the league.

Best idea I’ve heard on this is to keep the lottery, but determine the number of ping-pong balls based on a teams’ record for the past 5 (or 3) seasons instead of just the current one. Prevents tanking, but also means we’ll never see another Duncan to the Spurs type miracle draft acquisition by an otherwise good team beset by injuries. Not sure if that’s a good or bad thing honestly…Spurs have been pretty good for the league.

 Why don’t they just make it so the worst 5 teams get the top 5 picks? You can still do a wheel or lottery, but just make it so the worst teams get the best picks, and stop this 14 team lottery nonesense. While I like the idea of my team winning the lottery with just a 1.8% chance, it still breaks the hearts and spirits of hundreds of fans and their teams, and could really set back a franchise. 

I also don’t like this whole "3 year cumulative" theory a lot of you guys are talking about. It sounds good in theory, but I think it could really handicap a franchise if they don’t build a specific type of team. Look at the Bulls for example. Let’s say Rose’s injuries are career ending, and thier roster is in terrible shape with a bunch of good role players and no lead guy. They just lost their star player to injuries, had two great seasons, and will be stuck in purgatory for a couple of years unless they get a free agent or get a sleeper pick. 

The same could be said with a team that is old, and has many of the players retire. What if Duncan and Ginobili retired after that finals run like a lot of people thought they would? Same with Pierce and KG during the Celtics run. A team that is on top of the league for a long time is now stricken of their franchise’s identity, andwouldn’t have the ability to get top talent in the draft. Improvement would have to be intrinsic, or they would need to spend money to bring players in; None of which is garanteed.

I know those examples aren’t really that well thought out, but I hope you guys can get the gist of what I’m trying to say. I feel like a system like that would force teams to do things they normally wouldn’t do, and could really hurt teams who go from first to worst like signing free agents they normally wouldn’t (or shouldn’t) because they know they aren’t going to get a top pick for a year or two. 

 Why don’t they just make it so the worst 5 teams get the top 5 picks? You can still do a wheel or lottery, but just make it so the worst teams get the best picks, and stop this 14 team lottery nonesense. While I like the idea of my team winning the lottery with just a 1.8% chance, it still breaks the hearts and spirits of hundreds of fans and their teams, and could really set back a franchise. 

I also don’t like this whole "3 year cumulative" theory a lot of you guys are talking about. It sounds good in theory, but I think it could really handicap a franchise if they don’t build a specific type of team. Look at the Bulls for example. Let’s say Rose’s injuries are career ending, and thier roster is in terrible shape with a bunch of good role players and no lead guy. They just lost their star player to injuries, had two great seasons, and will be stuck in purgatory for a couple of years unless they get a free agent or get a sleeper pick. 

The same could be said with a team that is old, and has many of the players retire. What if Duncan and Ginobili retired after that finals run like a lot of people thought they would? Same with Pierce and KG during the Celtics run. A team that is on top of the league for a long time is now stricken of their franchise’s identity, andwouldn’t have the ability to get top talent in the draft. Improvement would have to be intrinsic, or they would need to spend money to bring players in; None of which is garanteed.

I know those examples aren’t really that well thought out, but I hope you guys can get the gist of what I’m trying to say. I feel like a system like that would force teams to do things they normally wouldn’t do, and could really hurt teams who go from first to worst like signing free agents they normally wouldn’t (or shouldn’t) because they know they aren’t going to get a top pick for a year or two. 

I’m personally fine with the lottery concept. If anything I think it should be even more random. Right now, the worst team in the NBA has a 25% chance of getting the number one pick. Make that a 15-20% chance instead, tanking suddenly becomes much less fruitful. 

I’m personally fine with the lottery concept. If anything I think it should be even more random. Right now, the worst team in the NBA has a 25% chance of getting the number one pick. Make that a 15-20% chance instead, tanking suddenly becomes much less fruitful. 

 I don’t understand why people hate the lottery so much. This isn’t football where the team with the worst record automatically gets the 1st pick. Tanking only gets you a 25% chance of winning the lottery. Like others have said I wish it were televised, but I don’t see any problem with the system. 

 I don’t understand why people hate the lottery so much. This isn’t football where the team with the worst record automatically gets the 1st pick. Tanking only gets you a 25% chance of winning the lottery. Like others have said I wish it were televised, but I don’t see any problem with the system. 

 since Charlotte Bobcatss.

 since Charlotte Bobcatss.