SH blog: Thursday’s News: Conspiracy theories arise after draft lottery

Today’s news around the league was dominated by the results of Wednesday night’s draft lottery. Some seem to believe in conspiracies, while others laugh at the notion. You can find all kinds of opinions about it below.

The New Orleans Hornets acquired the No. 1 lottery pick on Wednesday night, giving the franchise an opportunity to draft a franchise-level player in Anthony Davis, and perhaps draw up a new logo as well. The problem? Though they are in the process of selling the team to Tom Benson, David Stern and the league still own the team. For that reason, as Adrian Wojnarowski reports, many that actually work within the NBA believes foul play was involved: The reaction of several league executives was part disgust, part resignation on Wednesday night. So many had predicted this happening, so many suspected that somehow, someway, the Hornets would walk away with Davis. That’s the worst part for the NBA; these aren’t the railings from the guy sitting at the corner tavern, but the belief of those working within the machinery that something undue happened here, that they suspect it happens all the time under Stern.

The executives privately had their say about the results of the draft lottery, and they were not the only people within the league to openly question what happened. Through twitter, here are some thoughts of a number of NBA players themselves, from IamaGM. Richard Hamilton of the Chicago Bulls had this to say: Who thinks the lottery was rigged?

As our editor-in-chief would tell you, however, NBA commissioner David Stern would be committing a felony if he rigged the lottery, and the guy does not want to be using soap on a rope for 15-to-20 years. OK?

And finally, Zach Lowe of SI.com may have broken things down the best to debunk all the conspiracy theories. RealGM also took a poll asking if the NBA could clear its image if they simply televised the actual draft lottery. See the results here.

Anthony Davis, though sure to become a player for the Hornets soon enough, is not even in the league yet. Still, it didn’t stop him from talking about shutting down one Kobe Bryant in the near future, writes Mark Medina of Los Angeles Times: “[Kobe]’s a monster. So I just want to go out there and play my hardest,” Davis said Thursday on the”Dan Patrick Show.” There’s a lot of guys that can’t stop Kobe. So if I stop him I could be one of the guys that say, ‘I shut Kobe down’.” “Be careful what you ask for Anthony,” Patrick told the former Kentucky standout. “He listens to the show and he has a great memory.” Retorted Anthony: “Tell him, I’ll be waiting.”

Chesapeake Energy Arena is set for tonight’s contest between the Thunder and the Spurs. You do have to wonder, though, if the Thunder are resigned to the fact that they don’t have much of a chance in this series, at least this season against this Spurs team. Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman, perhaps feeling what Al Jefferson felt in the first round of the playoffs, certainly sounded mentally defeated in this piece: Nobody in OKC wants to hear it, but it’s not the Thunder’s time. That seems clear not just because of what happened in San Antonio the last few days, but what’s happened in San Antonio the last few weeks. Popovich has produced an epic team. The Spurs have won 20 straight games, the fourth-longest win streak in NBA history, and he’s done it with adults.

If there is one coach you do not want to mess with, it is Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs. As Trey Kerby of The Score writes, Tony Parker learned his lesson the hard way about Pop, receiving a notable threat from the sometimes-frightening coach.

Remember Brandon Roy? The once-dominant shooting guard of the Portland Trailblazers is rumored to be making a comeback as soon as next season despite retiring due to a degenerative knee condition, according to Chris Palmer of ESPN: Someone who could help the Lakers: Brandon Roy. Based on what I’m told he could be back in the league next year.

The Brooklyn Nets hoped for the best in the lottery, but their worst nightmare came to fruition once their pick was determined. Michael Scotto detailed the situation for ReamGM: Just before the NBA Draft Lottery results were unveiled, ESPN’s Heather Cox asked Nets representative Irina Pavlova what the move to Brooklyn meant for the franchise.“It will be a true renaissance,” said Pavlova. That was before the Nets worst nightmare became a reality as NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver unveiled the team had drawn the No. 6 overall pick.