This past week was the NBA draft lottery. If you are not familiar with the lottery system it is when all NBA teams who did not make the playoffs are ranked in order of record and are given odds to win accordingly. For example, the team with the worst record will have the highest percentage out of a 1000 possible combination's in order to obtain the number one overall pick in the upcoming draft. The highest percentage is normally 25% with the exception of a tie for the worst record.
Now lets get to why this system is the definition of a hate love relationship.
Minnesota Timberwolves President David Kahn was not the Lottery's biggest fan Tuesday night. After the Timberwolves had the highest chance of "winning" with 25%. The number one spot was instead taken by the Cleveland Cavaliers not with their 19.9% chance but with the pick acquired from a trade with the L.A. Clippers with only a 2.8% chance. Cleveland also walked away with the fourth overall pick. Cleveland was represented by the owners 14 year old son who was born with neurofibromatosis, a condition that causes tumors to grow anywhere on the body. Nick has already undergone brain surgery once as well as multiple rounds of chemotherapy. This made a great story and seemed to bring some joy back to Cleveland for the first time since "The Decision".
David Kahn however was not pleased with the Timberwolves missing the first overall pick again (they have never had the first overall pick) despite being in the lottery numerous times. Kahn said this, "This league has a habit -- and I am just going to say habit -- of producing some pretty incredible story lines". While I can see Kahn's frustration with missing out on the top pick, I do not think that there is some sort of conspiracy concerning the lottery. In Kahn's defense, he later said that:
"I joked last night that it's a heck (of a) better story for a 14-year-old kid to beat out a couple of middle-aged executives standing together on a stage on national TV -- and that our league seems to always have its own share of luck in being a part of these stories."
Personally I do not believe that Kahn was joking while he made these comments. I am also not sure that he was accusing the NBA of rigging the lottery however, his frustration from the lottery got the best of him after wards.
This is an example of why you might disagree or even hate the lottery, if you have been a team struggling and are the worse in the league and you are not given the first pick.
The lottery can be your worst enemy or best friend. And in Cleveland's case they are loving it. Every team has a chance to win big in the lottery and it is all chance. Which is fair?
This is why I like the lottery, you are not automatically awarded for being horrible, unlike other professional sports leagues. At the same time it does help combat the issue of having a lopsided league. Only non playoff teams are automatically entered into the lottery and the odds still say that if you are the worst you have the best chance to "win" but there are no guarantees. This makes organizations, managers, coaches and players have to do more on their own to resurrect fallen franchises instead of being given the first pick with a pretty bow on top.
The NBA lottery might be the purest definition of a love hate relationship. You love it and/or hate it for the exact same reason. It just depends on how it treats you that one night of the year.
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