The NBA Draft Lottery is a Joke

By: Byron Parker

After putting aside my beef with the NBA and its funny business, last night made me even more determined to believe that the NBA is a phony league. Ever since the NBA Draft Lottery began, it seems like there has been something wrong with it every year; or maybe it’s just me. You’ve seen what happened when Patrick Ewing went to the New York Knicks, and we see what’s happened with Tim Duncan when he went to the San Antonio Spurs. And don’t let me remind you about how the Toronto Raptors ended up getting the No. 1 overall pick in 2006. Who did they get? An international player, Andrea Bargnani. Wouldn’t that be great for a Canadian franchise to go out and get an international player? I mean, they don’t even show the ball being picked for goodness sake. I felt that the Boston Celtics would be the ones to take the #1 pick last year but the first two picks went to two struggling franchises out West who needed saviors. Those two saviors were #1 and #2 in last years draft. And for some reason, I can’t help but to believe that the Boston didn’t get those picks because the deal that brought the Big Three into town was already a done deal (that we didn’t know was going to occur). But that’s over now and this is the reason why the NBA is itching to see Boston in the Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, and I gave my opinion on how those deals went down.


Now I just don’t understand it. I would love to believe that it was a coincidence of what goes down in the NBA but last night gives me a reason not to. How the hell do the Chicago Bulls win the No.1 overall pick with a 1.7% chance of winning? Jumping from No.9 to No.1? This is ridiculous. With Chicago already being a halfway decent team, they probably played a little lackadaisical towards the end of the season in order to obtain a better chance in the NBA Draft Lottery. But even with less than a two percent of winning, they end up with the No.1. I can’t do anything but question that.

So with that said, lets take a look at the choices that Chicago has. The top two players (in my opinion) in this year’s NBA Draft are the two freshman stars, Michael Beasley and Derrick Rose. Both are NBA ready and both can help Chicago. Beasley can play either the PF or SF spot, and that’s where the Bulls have strength at. They have seven forwards on their roster and adding another would be silly. With Beasley being a guy who loves getting rebounds and isn’t afraid to go in to take them, the Bulls don’t necessarily need that. They were pretty strong in that department too because they were in the top ten in rebounding with 43 a game.



Now let’s take a look at Rose. This is a guy who showed us what he can do in college; break down the defense, drive to the basket, create plays and open shots, etc. With Chicago only having two true point guards on their team, Rose could fit in easily and run the offense just as good as Kirk Hinrich and Chris Duhon, if not better. Hinrich will need to have a better season that he did last year in order to be trusted by whoever their next head coach will be. If he can’t accomplish that, then he may see limited time. If Rose were to come into Chicago (which I feel will most likely happen), then he has the perfect situation into his lap.



It’s funny to me though, how this works out because Rose is a positional player that they could really use and he would make a great fit in Chicago. They need a go-to guy who is an excellent ball handler and if anybody, Rose is their guy. But even with him possibly being the first one taken in this draft, it gives me reason to believe that this is a conspiracy because THE GUY IS FROM CHICAGO!!!



Coincidence? Naw, I don’t think so.



Put that puzzle together yourself if you still don’t understand how that is working out. More notes from this, David Stern lives in Chicago with a place right down the street from Jerry Reinsdorf. If you don’t know who that is, he is the majority owner of the Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Bulls. These are two guys who have a history of having a good relationship, so it’s not surprising to me at all how this went down.



Maybe none of this would’ve occurred if Mike D’Antonio weren’t to go to New York over Chicago. I feel that the reason why New York didn’t get the No.1 pick is because they’re too deep in a whole to have the bounce back season that they need in order to revive the New York basketball scene. With Chicago, they already have the decent team and with the right coach, they may have already been on pace for a bounce back season. Now with the No.1 overall pick, I’m sure they will.