Kahn't catch a break

(One of my favorite terrible titles ever.)

David Kahn now says he was joking when he drafted three point guards in the first round of the 2009 draf … I mean when he said that the NBA “has a habit […] of producing some pretty incredible story lines,” in reference to last night’s draft lottery.

But conspiracy theories are less than rare in NBA conversations, and the draft lottery – which is literally a backroom procedure – is well set up to fit into those conversations.

In fact, one of the most well-known NBA conspiracy theories is that the very first draft lottery (1985) was rigged so the New York Knicks – one of the most important franchises in sports history – would win the #1 pick to take college standout Patrick Ewing.

Speaking of big market wins, the LA Clippers have won the lottery three times since 1985, thanks in large part to their really awesome play over the last 26 years, but three #1 overall picks should have hypothetically helped one of the NBA's more visible teams.

Chicago has won the lottery twice, first in 1999 – the year after Jordan left what was, at the time, the biggest franchise in sports, and then in 2008 with a 1.7% chance of winning Chicago native Derrick Rose.

The only team to win the lottery with a lower percentage chance was the 1993 Orlando Magic, who had a 1.5% chance of winning the top spot. Orlando actually traded #1 pick Chris Webber to Golden State for #3 pick Penny Hardaway (and some other stuff), paving the way for Penny’s team up with 1992 #1 overall pick Shaquille O’Neal, which paved the way for Blue Chips, oddly enough a movie about conspiracies and cheating in sports.

Moving back to the Cavs, in 2003, Cleveland won the draft lottery and the rights to (former) hometown hero LeBron James. But, LeBron’s ultimate departure in free agency last summer has made the Cavs one of the most sympathetic stories in sports, because of the betrayal and all.

Combine that with owner Dan Gilbert’s made-for-TV son representing the team and the fact that Cleveland won the #1 selection with their lower ranked pick of their two lottery picks and we’ve got another potential conspiracy theory on our hands.

Or maybe I've just been playing too much L.A. Noire.

Quote of the Week:

Oddly enough, one of the NBA’s most important shapers of story lines over the past 30 years has found himself the center of one of the bigger side stories of these playoffs. As usual, Charles Barkley provides some of the best perspective on this story:

“I'd rather have a gay guy who can play [as a teammate] than a straight guy who can't play.”