04/23/24
May 19, 2009
Los Angeles Clippers Win NBA Draft Lottery: The Los Angeles Clippers won the first pick in the NBA Draft Lottery, which is likely to be Oklahoma star Blake Griffin. The Clippers tied for the second-worst record in the league and had a 17.8% chance of getting the top pick. The team with the worst record, the Sacramento Kings, fell to fourth. The Memphis Grizzlies have the second pick and the former Seattle Supersonics will pick third. The Clippers have picked first twice before, selecting Michael Olowokandi in 1998 and Danny Manning in 1988.
posted by rcade to basketball at 09:09 PM - 4 comments
The NBA gives all 14 teams that did not make the playoffs a chance to get the 1, 2 or 3 pick, declining from 25% for the worst-record team to around 1% or 2% for the 14th-worst. The system was instituted because of concerns that teams were trying to lose late-season games to get a high pick next season.
I think it works out pretty well, though the team with the worst record almost never gets the top pick, and fans still think the lottery was fixed when the Knicks won the rights to draft Patrick Ewing.
posted by rcade at 12:47 PM on May 20, 2009
For some reason, it seems like the Wolves always end up below where they should be odds-wise. I don't think they've moved up in the draft in their entire history, which is really odd considering how many times they've been in the lottery.
At least they have 3 1st-rounders...though it would be nice if we had a GM, and an owner who wasn't morphing into Al Davis with each passing day.
posted by TheQatarian at 01:50 PM on May 20, 2009
...and fans still think the lottery was fixed when the Knicks won the rights to draft Patrick Ewing.
You trying to tell me that the card that had the Knicks name on it wasn't put in the freezer prior to the pick so that David Stern would feel the coldness of who would select Patrick Ewing?
I'm not buying it!
/goes back under my rock
posted by BornIcon at 10:36 AM on May 21, 2009
Someone has to explain to me the way the NBA does their lottery. What ever happened to the worst team getting the # 1 pick and so on down the line like the NFL? Ping Pong balls? I thought they were meant for Forrest Gump on the All-American Ping Pong team.