Until NBA Deputy Commissioner & COO Mark Tatum opens the envelopes tonight at the Draft Lottery at the N.Y. Hilton, he "will not know" the winner, "nor will the hopeful representatives from each team," according to Victor Mather of the N.Y. TIMES. The annual opening of the envelopes is "essentially a made-for-TV sideshow," but the actual selection of the winning teams "takes place in strict secrecy." Approximately 25 people already will know the outcome because the actual draft lottery "will be over." The site for the "little-seen but crucial event will be a conference room elsewhere in the hotel," having taken place "about an hour earlier." The lottery will be "witnessed by a representative of each team" and a "few members of the news media." Their cellphones will be "confiscated, and no contact with the outside world will be allowed." Once the drawing is complete, three people "will leave the room: two NBA legal officials" and Ernst & Young partner Denise Pelli. They will "go to a second room, where 14 envelopes and logo cards for each team will be waiting." Everyone else in the first room "must remain sequestered until after the televised ceremony." The lottery will be "videotaped and will be posted on the NBA’s website, but only after the televised ceremony is over" (N.Y. TIMES, 5/18). USA TODAY's Jeff Zillgitt notes the NBA uses a ping-pong machine designed by new Jersey-based Smartplay Int'l, which "makes lottery equipment for clients all over the world." Smartplay "weighs, measures and certifies the ping-pong balls before the drawing" (USA TODAY, 5/19).
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MEDIA MEMBERS SCHEDULED TO WITNESS LOTTERY SELECTION PROCESS
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| NAME |
OUTLET |
| Ken Berger |
CBSSports.com |
| Mike Bresnahan |
L.A. Times |
| Ben Cohen |
Wall Street Journal |
| Frank Isola |
N.Y. Daily News |
| Baxter Holmes |
ESPN.com |
| Zach Lowe |
Grantland.com |
| Chris Mannix |
SI |
| Victor Mather |
N.Y. Times |
| Mark Medina |
L.A. Daily News |
| Marc Narducci |
Philadelphia Inquirer |
| Chris Sheridan |
SheridanHoops.com |
| Stephen A. Smith |
ESPN |
| Jeff Zillgitt |
USA Today |
ACTION JACKSON: In N.Y., Bob Raissman writes Knicks President Phil Jackson "should be representing the organization he currently runs" at tonight's lottery instead of GM Steve Mills. From a PR standpoint, the man in charge "should at least give the perception he’s in charge." While Jackson's presence "would have produced huge symbolic vibes, there’s also the entertainment value to consider." He "would bring a more theatrical presence to the proceedings" (
N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 5/19).
Meanwhile, SI's Chris Ballard takes a look back on the first Draft Lottery in '85, which for three decades has been surrounded by different conspiracy theories on how the Knicks landed the right to draft Patrick Ewing (
SI, 5/18 issue).
