NBA May Look To Tweak Lottery; Blazers, Sonics Get Top Picks

NBA May Consider Changes To Draft Lottery System

The NBA “may consider examining its draft lottery system after speculation some teams weren’t trying their best to win late in the season,” according to Tom Canavan of the AP. NBA Commissioner David Stern before the lottery said that he “likes the system but wasn't happy with the way some teams played down the stretch.” Stern: “I haven’t spoken to a lot of owners. On the end of the season and what teams do competitively, I think we should look at the lottery system and see whether it can be improved.” 76ers Chair Ed Snider “believes each of the 14 teams in the lottery should get one ball,” but Stern said, “You could have a 45-win team in a particular year be in the lottery and get the first pick. I’m not sure that's what drafts were meant to achieve” (AP, 5/22). Stern added that the league was “‘monitoring’ teams this season and even interviewed” Celtics F Ryan Gomes, who said publicly he did not play part of one game because the team was in contention for a top draft pick (ESPN.com, 5/23).

TOPPING OUT: With the Trail Blazers, Sonics and Hawks getting the top three picks, last night’s lottery was the first time since ’93 that the three teams with the worst records were all pushed out of the top three picks (ESPN.com, 5/23). After the lottery announcement, outgoing Grizzlies President of Basketball Operations Jerry West said, “I don’t like the draft lottery, never liked it. It’s not sour grapes. I just think it’s a terrible system and it needs to be addressed. Every other league in the other professional (sports), they all draft according to how they finish in the season.” More West: “The two worst teams this year get No. 4 and No. 5 in the draft, and (it’s) arguably hard to say (which players are) going to be there that will help the team as much as the first two guys” (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 5/23). Celtics broadcaster Tom Heinsohn, who represented the team at the announcement, said, “One guy told me tonight that if his team didn’t get one of those top two picks, his team had a serious chance of going out of business” (BOSTON HERALD, 5/23).

STAYING UP LATE: The expected top two picks in the draft are C Greg Oden and F Kevin Durant, and Stern was asked about having them play in the Pacific Northwest, where most games start at 10:30pm ET. Stern: “I’m not concerned at all. No one can get lost anymore. Everybody knows everybody. The world is getting much smaller” (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 5/23). But ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith said two teams in the Pacific Northwest getting the top two picks in the NBA Draft is “disastrous” for the league. Smith: “If they are out in the Pacific Northwest, you’re hardly going to see them. They’re going to have to play on Sunday on national television in order for you to see the exploits of a Greg Oden or a Kevin Durant” (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 5/22).

GENERATING INTEREST: In Portland, Jason Quick reports the Trail Blazers’ Web site last night “received so many hits it crashed. Hours later, after the site was restored, another onslaught of hits rendered it frozen.” Phone lines “were jammed with fans wanting to buy season tickets” (Portland OREGONIAN, 5/23). Sonics VP/Sales & Marketing Brian Byrnes: “We sold over 40 full-season tickets and we’ve taken another 20 orders on mini-packages, and that’s within the first 90 minutes after the announcement” (SEATTLE TIMES, 5/23).

Wilkens Hopes Second Overall Pick Will Help Energize Support For Sonics In Seattle

SONICS: Sonics President Lenny Wilkens said of having the No. 2 pick, “Hopefully it gets people more excited. ... I think we’re still working real hard to keep the franchise here.” Sonics broadcaster Kevin Calabro: “I think it’s going to regenerate fans’ interest in professional basketball in Seattle” (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 5/23). In Seattle, Art Thiel writes under the header, “Durant Could Be The Player Who Saves Sonics.” Thiel: “This 18-year-old kid is so good he may be able to do what all the oil money in Oklahoma City, all the high-tech money in Seattle and all the city and state politicians have not — secure a future for the franchise here” (SEATTLE P-I, 5/23). The SEATTLE TIMES’ Jerry Brewer: “This floundering franchise needed a chance to draft a can’t-miss prospect, a player with the skills and charisma to intrigue discouraged fans” (SEATTLE TIMES, 5/23). In Tacoma, John McGrath: “The battle to preserve the NBA in Seattle was transformed from a one-sided blowout into something resembling a fair fight” (NEWS TRIBUNE, 5/23). In Sacramento, Ailene Voisin writes the Sonics’ arena situation “suddenly looks a lot more promising.” But Durant also “makes the Sonics an even more attractive product” for potential relocation sites (SACRAMENTO BEE, 5/23).

WHAT’S IT WORTH? CNBC’s Darren Rovell estimated that having the No. 1 pick will be worth $6,344,483 to the Blazers. Since ’96 the team that selected first overall “got an average attendance boost of 11.5[%] the following season,” which for the Blazers would translate to 77,121 more fans, or $3,316,203 in gate revenue at an average ticket price of $43 per game. Rovell also assumed each extra person spends $10 on concessions and every three people are paying an average of $10 for parking. Based on an average increase of 11.5 wins after a No. 1 selection, the Blazers should make the postseason, meaning they could earn an extra $1M each from at least two guaranteed home playoff games. With the No. 1 pick’s slotted salary for the ’07-08 season being $4,662,000, the “projections have the Trail Blazers in the positive by $1,672,483” (CNBC.com, 5/22).