The Fix May or May Not Be In

The winner of the NBA Draft Lottery, and 100000% likely team to pick Kentucky freshman Anthony Davis with the #1 overall pick will be....


After the Break.

The team with the worst record in NBA history, the Charlotte Bobcats, will be selecting 2nd in a draft that is not expected to be very deep. Charles Barkley stated many months ago that he felt if the Hornets won the lottery, it was clear evidence that the draft lottery is fixed, due to the fact that the Hornets were owned by the NBA until mid-season for almost the last 2 years and had traded away Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers for junk players with expiring contracts after commissioner David Stern rejected a trade to send Paul to the Lakers for key role players from the Lakers and Rockets.


I have to agree with Chuck. The order of the draft lottery shows a clear fix, with teams that really shouldn't be picking so high getting high picks.

1. New Orleans Hornets
2. Charlotte Bobcats
3. Washington Wizards
4. Cleveland Cavaliers
5. Sacramento Kings
6. Portland Trail Blazers (via Brooklyn Nets)
7. Golden State Warriors
8. Toronto Raptors
9. Detroit Pistons
10. New Orleans Hornets (via Minnesota Timberwolves)
11. Portland Trail Blazers
12. Milwaukee Bucks
13. Phoenix Suns
14. Houston Rockets
15. Philadelphia 76ers
16. Houston Rockets (via New York Knicks)
17. Dallas Mavericks
18. Minnesota Timberwolves (via Utah Jazz)
19. Orlando Magic
20. Denver Nuggets
21. Boston Celtics
22. Boston Celtics (via Los Angeles Clippers)
23. Atlanta Hawks
24. Cleveland Cavaliers (via Los Angeles Lakers)
25. Memphis Grizzlies
26. Indiana Pacers
27. Miami Heat
28. Oklahoma City Thunder
29. Chicago Bulls
30. Golden State Warriors (via San Antonio Spurs)

What makes the Hornets winning the #1 pick most egregious is that in a coin flip between the Hornets and Cavaliers, the Cavaliers actually won a coin flip that ended up giving them the #4 pick. If the Cavs had lost that coin flip, they would have gotten the #1 draft pick 2 years in a row. The Wizards lose out on Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, the consensus #2 overall draft pick, who would have been paired with fellow Wildcat John Wall.

The Lakers will have no draft picks unless they make some kind of trade for picks. Recent rumors from Chris Broussard, the ultimate source in false rumors, state that the Lakers are looking to trade Pau Gasol to the Chicago Bulls. It must be remembered that Broussard stated with utmost certainty that LeBron James would sign as a free agent with the Bulls along with Dwyane Wade and that Dwight Howard was "absolutely" going to become a free agent this offseason.