After having just a 13% chance of securing the #1 pick, the New Orleans Hornets did indeed move up from spot #4 to #1 overall to win the NBA Draft Lottery last night.
How convenient.
The one team that is owned by the league itself somehow managed to move up the board and land the first pick in this summers NBA Draft.
I’m not one to be pointing fingers and so forth, but this seems too good to be true.
The Hornets organization has run the gamut of emotions this year. From having a favorable CP3 to the L.A Lakers trade get nixed by David Stern and league officials to eventually losing Paul to the Clippers, finishing the regular season with just 21 wins and not finding a potential owner until late in the year, New Orleans has certainly been through it all in 2012.
Now the Hornets have finally struck gold and “received” some overall good luck and hope for the future. They will select first in the upcoming draft and no doubt take future star Anthony Davis out of the University of Kentucky.
I don’t have any proof of the matter, but something fishy is going on in the NBA.
Every year when the Draft Lottery takes place, there are always cries of conspiracy and fixing as far as the draft order. It’s natural. The whole process is so stupid, it should be eliminated entirely. The worst team in the NBA should pick #1 in the draft. It’s as simple as that. The Charlotte Bobcats just finished with the worst winning percentage in the history of the league (7-59) and they STILL couldn’t secure that pick. What a farce.
Despite being purchased by New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson, he doesn’t actually take ownership of the franchise for another 2 months. At the time of the Lottery and even this writing, the Hornets are owned and run by NBA Commissioner David Stern. He isn’t exactly having himself the best year. The NBA lockout, the vetoed Paul trade and now the NBA lottery have all portrayed Stern in the bleakest of manners.
Owners, players and fans should definitely be curious as to how the Hornets wound up with the #1 pick. Chalking it up to the luck of the draw is too easy. There have been key moments in past lotteries that have made basketball fans believe that the drawing is rigged. How about the infamous 1985 lottery which the New York Knicks won? David Stern clearly moved other envelopes out of the way and selected the one with the bent corner. How about the 2011 NBA draft? In the summer of 2010, Cavaliers superstar Lebron James bolted town and headed to Miami. The following summer, the Cavaliers (who had less than a 3% chance of winning) vaulted up the rankings, won the #1 pick and drafted young point guard Kyrie Irving. Now we are seeing a similar situation in which the Hornets lose their cornerstone in Chris Paul and then leap up the draft order and land the number one pick. Coincidence?
I think not.
Some NBA theorists believe that perhaps the number 1 pick in the draft was promised to Mr. Benson to sweeten the pot so to speak so he would purchase the New Orleans Hornets.
Conspiracy theorists have a new one tonight: The NBA sold Tom Benson the Hornets w/the promise of the #1 pick.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) May 31, 2012
It kind of makes sense, doesn’t it? The Hornets weren’t exactly the most enticing of franchises to own. Promising Benson the number one selection and a chance to draft Anthony Davis could have been cherry on top for his purchase of the basketball team.
By the way, it didn’t help matters when a photo was leaked online by “Black Sports online” of Anthony Davis wearing a Hornets hat BEFORE the lottery.
Again, I and everyone else have no proof that the lottery is rigged. It’s all conspiracy “theories” at the moment. But when you look at the evidence and all of the subtle signs, how can you not think that something dirty is going on behind closed doors?
I suppose none of that really matters now. Anthony Davis will become a member of the New Orleans Hornets.
The reasoning behind how he wound up there will forever be a mystery. Was it just the balls bouncing the right way?
There is more to this story than meets the eye. I can’t shake that feeling.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UdL1fZFXGg
Christopher Walder is a sports blogger and lead editor for Sir Charles in Charge. You may follow him on Twitter @WalderSports