The conference finals should be fantastic. We can all agree on that. But what are fans in New York and Los Angeles looking forward to most? The Draft Lottery on Tuesday night as the lead-in to Game 1 of the Western Conference matchup between Golden State and Houston. First, let me get one thing out of the way: I do not believe the lottery is fixed. But I do believe the 1985 lottery may have been fixed in order to land the
The NBA draft lottery is next week, and hopefully there won’t be a scandal involving deflated ping-pong balls. For a franchise in the lottery, it is a chance to hit the jackpot and find a player who can help the team become a playoff contender immediately and a title contender down the road. According to several league executives, Texas center Myles Turner has the potential to be that type of player. “He’s probably a late lottery pick with big-time upside now,” one general
Teams in the NBA playoff races aren’t the only ones watching scoreboards this time of year. Take the Philadelphia 76ers, for example. The Sixers lost their first 17 games, were mathematically eliminated from the playoff race nearly a month ago and almost certainly will lose 60-plus games for the second straight season. But GM Sam Hinkie and the rest of the Sixers’ front office are tracking the results of other games almost as closely as their own. That’s because Philadelphia could have
NEW YORK — The draft lottery will remain the same. In somewhat of a shocking development Wednesday, a proposal to alter the formula for determining the top of the draft order failed to draw the 23 votes needed to pass. The vote was reportedly 17-13 in favor of changing the system, with the “No” votes being cast by Phoenix, Philadelphia, Oklahoma City, New Orleans, Detroit, Miami, Milwaukee, San Antonio, Utah, Washington, Atlanta, Charlotte and Chicago. Under the proposal that failed to gain
NEW YORK — The draft lottery is probably going to look a whole lot different by the time this week is over. Regarding the Philadelphia 76ers, it is going to ensure that their tank job for this upcoming season will not be replicated by anyone else anytime soon. Under a proposal scheduled to be voted upon by representatives of the 30 NBA ownership groups, the formula for the draft lottery will change. As first reported by Zach Lowe of Grantland, the
PHILADELPHIA – Let’s begin with a question. In the three-plus decades since David Stern took the reins as NBA commissioner from Larry O’Brien and handed them to Adam Silver, what do these franchises – the Atlanta Hawks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies, Toronto Raptors, Sacramento Kings, Washington Wizards, New Orleans Pelicans, Charlotte Hornets, Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers – have in common? Answer: None has gone to the NBA Finals. Furthermore, among that group only Denver, Minnesota, Milwaukee, Sacramento and
All you Twitter users out there probably know the hashtag #FF for Follow Friday or #TBT for Throwback Thursday. A lot of Twitter and Instagram users use the hashtag #WCW for WomanCrushWednesday. Not surprisingly, a popular choice for today was Mallory Edens, the daughter of the new Milwaukee Bucks owner. Instagram user tuckerbass8 called her the real MVP of the NBA Draft Lottery, where she stole the show and quickly gained thousands of Twitter followers. On this Wednesday, she was talked about
The Cleveland Cavaliers hit the jackpot by leaving the NBA Draft Lottery with the No. 1 overall pick for the third time in four years. What’s even more amazing than winning the lottery in three of four years? How about the fact that Cleveland’s “human luck charm,” Nick Gilbert, wasn’t in attendance as Joe Kotoch points out in his latest mock draft. Will the No. 1 pick be enough to make a possible trade for Kevin Love and entice LeBron James to