While the Celtics were losing Wednesday night a little thing happened prior to the game that reinforced my theories that the NBA is totally and completely corrupt. The NBA Draft Lottery.
I’ll explain.
We won’t go into the history of the Hornets and how they used to be in Charlotte. Or how they moved to New Orleans but are still called the Hornets, even though Utah has a team called the Jazz who were originally in New Orleans. Change New Orleans back to the Jazz and change Utah to the Salt Lakers or something.
I digress.
New Orleans was owned by the league. The league had purchased them in 2010 for $300 million. Well, the team was run by the league. Remember, Chris Paul couldn’t be traded to the Lakers but when a shittier deal came across the table the could trade Paul to the Clippers? Yeah, the league’s doing. More specifically, David Stern’s doing.
I’ve made my opinions very clear on Stern. I don’t like him. Sure Bettman shat on TV deals and stuff for the NHL, but he’s not as absurd as this assclown. Stern assigns specific referees for games with specific outlines to make sure he manipulates what he wants (see Lebron in the Finals).
But back to the lottery.
The NBA had a tough time selling the team. Finally the Saints owner, Tom Davis, bought the team. He paid $338 million. So the league made a small profit. And here’s where the conspiracy begins for me.
They sat on the team for over a year, dumped their best player for spare parts, and really have no marquee player. How can they sell the team? Who’d want to buy it so they’d sit in mediocrity for years? No, the league needed to get a marquee player to New Orleans. A player the team can build itself around, but more importantly a poster boy for the team ownership.
How can you get that? You rig the lottery. You make sure that even though New Orleans has the third best chance to win, that their number comes out first.
If they broadcast the actually balls being picked, I’d believe it’s not fixed. But they don’t. They just open the envelopes. So when Boston has the second worst record in the NBA a few years back and gets the worst possible pick in #5, you have to think something’s up. How else did they lose the Duncan lottery in 1997.
I flip flop on this whole topic. I don’t think teams should be able to tank to the #1 pick like in the NFL but I don’t think that the team with the 6-14th worst record should even have a shot at the #1 pick. Top five maybe? How about a playoff for picks? Your loser’s bracket that has all the worst teams and they have to play for the top pick? I don’t know.
All I know is the NBA is the most corrupt of the major sports. Stern is the master of the manipulation. And the world will be a better place when Stern is out in the NBA office.
