have fun

http://espn.go.com/nba/lottery2010/mockdraft

2nd try

http://img682.imageshack.us/img682/3715/21558052.jpg

We have the 6th worst record right now, just FYI

Of the players listed, who do you feel best fit our current roster for next season?

I don't really watch college ball, but outside of the obvious (Wall) I suppose you'd have to take Favors and then Aldrich.

I don't know anything about Ed Davis other than he goes to UNC.

2nd try- Pistons 2nd pick, 7th try- 2nd pick, 8th try- 1st pick ;)

It's a shame they only have one try in the real thing.

It's a shame they only have one try in the real thing.

BOOOOOOOO!!

Of the players listed, who do you feel best fit our current roster for next season?
I really like Favors. He's either 6'9" or 6'10" (depends on where listed) but has a very large wingspan to make up for it. I don't think he's 215 like they list either. He's 245-250.

I've watched Favors twice, and he disappeared completely. Word is, when I don't watch he's good.

First try, got the #3 and Evan Turner. If we got Turner, we'd probably be looking to trade Stuckey. Turner and Gordon in the backcourt? Or does Turner come off the bench for a year behind Stuckey and Gordon?

2nd try - #6 - Wesley Johnson

3rd try - #1 - John Wall


My main thought: No way in hell we draft Willie Warren in the lottery. Just....no.

I've watched Favors twice, and he disappeared completely. Word is, when I don't watch he's good.

Cousins has an NBA ready body and skill set for the 4/5, but he is apparently a disappearing act pretty regularly.

First try, got the #3 and Evan Turner. If we got Turner, we'd probably be looking to trade Stuckey. Turner and Gordon in the backcourt? Or does Turner come off the bench for a year behind Stuckey and Gordon?

2nd try - #6 - Wesley Johnson

3rd try - #1 - John Wall


My main thought: No way in hell we draft Willie Warren in the lottery. Just....no.

If we got Turner I bet you'd see a 3 guard rotation of Stuckey/Turner/Gordon since Dumars doesn't care about positions.

If it were me I'd move Gordon for a big man if possible under that scenario.

If we got Turner I bet you'd see a 3 guard rotation of Stuckey/Turner/Gordon since Dumars doesn't care about positions.

If it were me I'd move Gordon for a big man if possible under that scenario.

Where would Rip fit into that backcourt?

Personally, if we got a top 3 pick I'd probably wanna trade it for a proven player, or trade down a couple of spots and get Aldrich.

He's a true C and if we can acquire some kind of asset by moving down a couple of spots then IMO you gotta do it.

Where would Rip fit into that backcourt?

Personally, if we got a top 3 pick I'd probably wanna trade it for a proven player, or trade down a couple of spots and get Aldrich.

He's a true C and if we can acquire some kind of asset by moving down a couple of spots then IMO you gotta do it.

Respectfully, I disagree. In the NFL that works, but in the NBA there are really only 9 or 10 guys who play. With Stuckey, Gordon, Hamilton, Bynum, Villanueva, Jerebko and Daye, that's 7 guys who can play. Add in a top 3 pick and you have 8, depth really isn't a problem with Ben Wallace around for a couple years. While a center would be nice, I think you take the BPA then trade out of a position of strength.

Trading down is usually a mistake in the NBA. Like DTBM said, in the NFL you find good value in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. In the NBA, the talent drops off fast. Most 2nd rounders will never be starters (maybe 1 or 2 a year become solid players).

Wherever we end up we need to take the best player available. If that happens to be a SG, you may take the next best (if there isn't a large difference in talent), but that is it.

I think you can move RIP, you just have to be prepared to take on someone else's bad contract. You could get a big that is overpaid himself. It will probably not be an elite center, but a serviceable one at least.

Maybe Stern will give us the frozen envelope?

It would help sell the team, after all.

Do they have one of these that shows the odds on us inevitably drafting Cole Aldrich?

Also, i don't understand, in the last 5 minutes it's shown me us getting as high as 5 and as low as 9 and 10 if we don't win one of the 3 top picks??

It's doing a mock lottery (to see which team lands in which spot) and giving you a mock draft pick depending on where each team lands. In the NBA lottery only the top 3 picks are lotto, the rest get seeded based on the W/L record of the teams left that didn't make the playoffs.

"reset to current standings" might be what you are looking for

It's doing a mock lottery (to see which team lands in which spot) and giving you a mock draft pick depending on where each team lands. In the NBA lottery only the top 3 picks are lotto, the rest get seeded based on the W/L record of the teams left that didn't make the playoffs. Yeah but there should be a max gap of 3 picks then, right? If the 3 worst teams get 1-2-3, we should be 6th. If the 11th, 12th and 13th worst get 1-2-3, then we'd be bumped down to ninth. Why is it showing 5 or 10 sometimes?

we were tied with about 3-4 teams the other day, that might be contributing to it

we were tied with about 3-4 teams the other day, that might be contributing to it

Yeah, that's gotta be it, thanks.

I really do hope we get the worst possible lottery outcome. People who want this team to lose deserve it.

I really do hope we get the worst possible lottery outcome. People who want this team to lose deserve it.

The fact that you don't see the irony in that statement is hilarious.

Werd.

The fact that you don't see the irony in that statement is hilarious.
There's a difference between accepting your team is bad and rooting for it.

The last thing i want is for scum like you to be rewarded for it.

I would like for :us: to get raped by the one-seed in the first round.

And get nothing to show for it.

Like last year.

I would like for :us: to get raped by the one-seed in the first round.

And get nothing to show for it.

Like last year.


HEY!!!

Respectfully, I disagree. In the NFL that works, but in the NBA there are really only 9 or 10 guys who play. With Stuckey, Gordon, Hamilton, Bynum, Villanueva, Jerebko and Daye, that's 7 guys who can play. Add in a top 3 pick and you have 8, depth really isn't a problem with Ben Wallace around for a couple years. While a center would be nice, I think you take the BPA then trade out of a position of strength.

I am not counting Big Ben as part of my "future" team. I believe he'll probably be back next season but after that it's anyone's guess...

so:

C =
F = Nova or Maxiell depending on who is at C
F = Jerebko or Daye (not counting Tay either)
G = Rip
G = Stuckey
6 = Ben Gordon
7 = Nova or Maxiell
8 = Will Bynum
9 = Jerebko or Daye

Depending on how the Lottery ends up we "could" trade down, grabbing a future pick or a second rounder and end up with Aldrich.

Of course, this all assumes that several teams are willing to pass on Aldrich in the first place

Trading down is usually a mistake in the NBA. Like DTBM said, in the NFL you find good value in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. In the NBA, the talent drops off fast. Most 2nd rounders will never be starters (maybe 1 or 2 a year become solid players).
There were some 82games.com statistics last year about this subject that were interesting. I posted about them, but I'll let someone else find what I said at the time because I'mt not really awake for some reason. As I recall, if you didn't get a top 10 pick, there's a huge dropoff from 10 to 11, then a relatively gradual dropoff from 11 to 45 or so as far as NBA success goes. Beyond the mid-second round, there's another cliff. In other words, the talent difference between the 15th, 25th, and 35th picks isn't especially big on average.

I remember that - and I somehow used that to once again pick apart Joe's Draft record.

Oh... shit... we're starting to have a lot of Draft topics.... FUCK!




Grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

REPEAT...

The Pistons are 1-11 this season when Prince plays

So if Tay hadn't gotten injured, we'd have Wall in the bag.

So if Tay hadn't gotten injured, we'd have Wall in the bag.

And this is the season he gets injured and doesn't play?

What a prick!

I'm confused though. Everytime the Pistons get the two pick in the simulator, it has them picking Turner and not Favors.

Which I guess would be the way Joe would go - I'm not sure we have enough combo guards on this team.

^insensitive

Family history, I know.

His grandfather sucked at drafting too.

His grandfather sucked at picking too.
Racist.

Racist.
Insensitive. Glan's grandfather was racist.

when i did the lottery simulator, we landed the #2 pick and took dwayne wade.

when i did the lottery simulator, we landed the #2 pick and took dwayne wade.
Insensitive. Joe's grandpa once drafted a Serbian over a future superstar.

when i did the lottery simulator, we landed the #2 pick and took dwayne wade.

In all fairness HW was the ONLY dude I know that was hyping Wade at that pick before the Draft.

At the time I was the Mod on Fanhome.com (and used my position there to bring over some dudes lol) and HW broke it all down long before Wade blew up for the Heat.

Yeah, I didn't think Wade would be that good. I saw him as a combo guard 6th man type. Kind of the role that Lowry has in Houston backing up both guard spots.

I thought Melo was the next Glenn Robinson (who was still better than Darko ever was)

Didn't know much about Bosh. Not working him out was stupid though.

Joe did work him out.


Bosh's workout with the Pistons raised a few eyebrows. GM Joe Dumars said last week that the team would draft Darko Milicic with the second pick in the draft. However, Bosh wanted to work out for the Pistons anyway. He left everyone on the staff very impressed.

"He's going to be a real special player," one Pistons source told Insider. "He reminds me of kind of a young Tim Duncan. He's just so solid fundamentally. His ability to play both inside and outside is very intriguing. And, he's a great young man."

Man, that hurts.

Wow, this guy looks like Duncan, but we don't want him. Who the fuck did they think Darko was then? The best you could have assumed was Dirk based on what I've heard. I'd take Duncan over Dirk any day.

Another snippit on that:


While many remember Detroit as having interest in Bosh leading up to the 2003 draft, the Pistons didn't even bother to ask him to come in for a workout.
It was Bosh and his people who requested a chance to, maybe just maybe, change the Pistons' focus from drafting Darko Milicic.
"I was at the point, let me see if I can move up," Bosh said. "We play the same position; just make them think about it to show people I'm serious."

I remember talking to some Pistons folks after the workout, and they all agreed that the kid could play and would be a good fit, but ... they were still sold on Milicic who has become one of the few busts from what has shaped up to be one of the most talented drafts ever.
I asked Bosh how did the conversation go with Joe Dumars after his workout leading up to the draft.
"I came away feeling like they liked it, but they were still gonna go with that guy," Bosh told me. "They kind of had their mind made up. It's cool just to make people thing about it sometimes."

it hurts reading that, it really does...

It hurts re-reading that.

I remember that article when it came out.

thanks for that P. yeah i think i called him an unselfish version of kobe bryant. i still think that's a pretty accurate breakdown of his talent and ability.

but i didn't foresee him being a completely pussy too, so i guess i didn't scout him as well as i could have.

Fuck me, Hermy - did you have to post that?


Bosh's workout with the Pistons raised a few eyebrows. GM Joe Dumars said last week that the team would draft Darko Milicic with the second pick in the draft. However, Bosh wanted to work out for the Pistons anyway. He left everyone on the staff very impressed.

"He's going to be a real special player," one Pistons source told Insider. "He reminds me of kind of a young Tim Duncan. He's just so solid fundamentally. His ability to play both inside and outside is very intriguing. And, he's a great young man."

Seriously, I can't type the word FUCK enough to express my utter, utter, rage right now.

I actually have to sit here and just not type anything other wise I'm gonna go fucking postal like a motherfucker.

How do you NOT draft the dude that reminds you of TIM DUNCAN?

Even if Darko was gonna be the second coming of Hakeem Olajuwon you still gotta take Duncan, right? Trade down a spot and take him? Get something from Denver for the pleasure?

FUCK!

For as long as I live I will never understand some of the things this braintrust has done. Never in a million lifetimes.

not that i'm justifying it, but the thinking was that darko could be both a guy like duncan-on the low bloc- AND like dirk- handling the ball, creating plays off the dribble, shooting the deep ball.

he was THOUGHT to be the first of his kind who supposedly would be both a dynamic big man and a dangerous threat on the wing.

oh boy, how ridiculous those ideas sound now. :o(

Yeah, they thought he was a KG type. Not quite as fast but stronger in the block. That was pretty accurate...

What I don't understand is that if he was that adept all around he would have got more than 8 minutes a game or whatever he got in Europe (vets or not on the team).

Trying to watch Favors, foul trouble, not playing.

Chris: didn't his Euro coach keep him off the floor to screw with the NBA scouts?

And I don't care who thought what about Darko - everyone was fooled by this kid. And that boggles my mind that in this (2003) day and age every NBA scout/GM can get caught by busts like Darko

Almost everyone was fooled, but how many teams did he work out for? Just because some GM that has the 30th pick hears all the hype from Ford, Dumars, etc and thinks Darko is the bomb doesn't mean he's really even looked at him. If they have no shot at him, I doubt they really bothered to scout him at all.

I really wonder how many people were actually 'fooled' and how many just agreed because they weren't in a position to draft him and never did any homework on him.

you think in this day and age a player with his hype wouldn't be scouted by EVERY team. that's silly. whether they had worked him out personally is different, but you can be sure EVERY team scouted him very, very well. they blew it obviously.

doesn't help that darko did not respond as hoped to nba coaching and the nba game in general. he still is a very talented player physically. but he plays like the cowardly lion. he didn't want to be great, he wanted to live the good life and not work to fulfill his talent.

We're now in the #5 position but I'm having issues with this Lottery sim.

Every single time I do it (8 and counting) we stay at our spot or move down.

The last time I used the sim we were in 8th or something and moved up almost every other attempt.

doesn't help that darko did not respond as hoped to nba coaching and the nba game in general. he still is a very talented player physically. but he plays like the cowardly lion. he didn't want to be great, he wanted to live the good life and not work to fulfill his talent.
What's the chance he goes back to Europe and actually looks GOOD? Then in 5-6 years some team gives him another shot in the NBA...


I still don't get why we draft Evan Turner if we get the 2nd pick. We have Stuckey as a combo guard that should be playing the 2. We have Ben Gordon, who can ONLY play the 2. Then we have Rip Hamilton, who we're not getting rid of anytime soon. Unless we move Rip and use Turner as a backup combo guard until he usurps Stuckey's starting PG role, I'm not seeing why we pick him.

Granted, I'd love to see that scenario, but I don't know anything about Favors.

Almost everyone was fooled, but how many teams did he work out for? Just because some GM that has the 30th pick hears all the hype from Ford, Dumars, etc and thinks Darko is the bomb doesn't mean he's really even looked at him. If they have no shot at him, I doubt they really bothered to scout him at all.

I really wonder how many people were actually 'fooled' and how many just agreed because they weren't in a position to draft him and never did any homework on him.

I'm sure many just went along for the ride but I'm also sure many, many teams did scout him due to the fact he wasn't even supposed to be in that Draft due to his birthdate or something.

Wasn't there an issue with what year he was able to enter?

Either way you know a guy like that would be scouted, simply to see what all the hoopla was about. And his individual workout set the scene for many people to rave about Darko further.

No one bothered to try and work out if he could handle being in the NBA, facing a tough NBA coach on a veteran NBA team that was looking to return to the ECF.

Did we get him a mentor his rookie year, someone who worked just with him? Did we have his entire fucking family move to Detroit with him? Did we do everything we possibly could to ensure that this massive invest wasn't flushed down the toilet as the team climbed the standings?

I'm simply amazed that no team (?) tests or has an extensive screening process that attempts to find out how kids will react to getting big money, how they'll go away from home, how they'll respond to being a professional NBA player.

In many cases NBA teams are giving dudes 19-22 years old millions of dollars and that changes their entire lives pretty quickly. Yet the amount of time, money and research conducted is IMO lacking.

I have read that the league has a sort of "class" after or before the Draft where NBA players tell these guys the "rules of the road" but it's obviously not enough in some cases.

Obviously the league and teams conduct all kinds of basketball related tests. It's all about the skills the player in question brings to the table. That's fine, considering you wanna draft the best guy possible and you wanna know if the cunt can play or not...

But the actual transition from college or euro ball to the NBA is the most difficult aspect of being Drafted. The game of basketball doesn't change. The hoop is still the height, the court the same length/width, the skills required to play the game at a high (or reasonable) level are the same.

The mental aspect of moving away from your family and/or friends, playing in a weird environment, being on the road constantly, not really having anyone on the team that "cares" about you and how you are handling it...

IMO any team that "thinks" they have got a potential star out of the Draft should get that dude a mentor ASAP. The mentor should "look after" the kid, while working with the Coaching staff to develop him.

Basically you hire a dude to be the kids' friend/father figure whatever.

Some people will scoff/laugh whatever but I liken the NBA rookie "rules" to pro wrestling. Wrestling rookies/young talent are expected to do all these stupid things in order to stay in the good graces of the veteran talent. These vets have political clout and could certain hurt the career of a young guy who doesn't play "by the rules". C.M Punk was a victim of this.

The rookie in the NBA has to carry the bags of a veteran. The rookie has to pick up donuts or some shit before practice. There are all these weird and wonderful rules to let the rookie know that "Hey, dude - you at the bottom and you gotta work your way up".

Surely that message of "working hard to get ahead" could be delivered in a better, more "kid friendly" way without having the "potential star rookie" carry the bags of some old dude that may or may not have even been more than a journeyman.

Example - is it fair for Jonas Jerebko to carry the bags of Chris Wilcox, who is a fucking bum? Jerebko is already dealing with being away from home, in a new country, in a new team environment and is doing all he can on the floor to prove himself does he really need to carry some fuckers' bags or go get donuts?

Did we get him a mentor his rookie year, someone who worked just with him?
Igor Kokoskov

I thought Igor arrived for Darko's second season?

What's the chance he goes back to Europe and actually looks GOOD? Then in 5-6 years some team gives him another shot in the NBA...


I still don't get why we draft Evan Turner if we get the 2nd pick. We have Stuckey as a combo guard that should be playing the 2. We have Ben Gordon, who can ONLY play the 2. Then we have Rip Hamilton, who we're not getting rid of anytime soon. Unless we move Rip and use Turner as a backup combo guard until he usurps Stuckey's starting PG role, I'm not seeing why we pick him.

Granted, I'd love to see that scenario, but I don't know anything about Favors.

Turner seems to have solid PG skills. What would be nice with him is that we'd have a lot of size in the backcourt with Stuckey too. That could be used to our advantage, especially since Gordon is undersized at the 2. I still like Favors though.

I thought Igor arrived for Darko's second season?
Nope, he'd always been around. He had the perfect resume for coaching a young Serbian in the U.S. -- U.S. college experience, past pro experience (to the extent that the Clips count as a pro outfit :) ). I was impressed by the hire at the time.

James (Canberra, Australia): I just was just reading your True Blue Pistons blog titled “History Lesson” and you made this statement at the end: “Going into Thursday night’s games, the Pistons would have the sixth-most lottery combinations.” I don’t really understand this. Could you explain how the lottery works in simple terms?

Langlois: Fourteen Ping-Pong balls – numbered 1 through 14 – are placed in a lottery machine and four balls are randomly selected to determine a lottery combination. There are 1,001 possible outcomes when you discount order (for example, 1-2-3-4 is the same as 4-3-2-1). Of those 1,001 possible outcomes, one (11,12, 13, 14) is discounted and the other 1,000 are divided among the 14 lottery teams. The team with the worst record is assigned the most outcomes, 250. So the New Jersey Nets will have 250 of a possible 1,000 four-digit combinations assigned to them for the May 18 lottery. The team with the second-worst record will have 199, then 156, 119, 88, 63, 43, 28, 17, 11, 8, 7 6 and 5. So the Nets will have a 25 percent chance of getting the No. 1 pick, a 21.5 percent chance of getting the No. 2 pick, a 17.8 percent chance of getting the No. 3 pick and a 35.7 percent chance of getting the No. 4 pick. The Nets could not pick lower than fourth. So as you can see, even though the Nets will have a better chance than any other team of getting the No. 1 pick, they will actually have a better chance of getting the No. 4 pick than the No. 1 pick, though a better chance of landing inside the top three than outside of it. No team can be pushed down more than three spots from where they would pick based on record, but any of the 14 teams has a chance to land inside the top three based on having one of their four-digit combinations selected. Hope that helps.

teams do pretty extensive background checks on potential draft picks- sometimes going back as far as talking to their teachers or highschool coaches, etc.

clearly it's not an exact science though and you can't truly know what a kid will do until you have him on your roster and you hold him to the fire.

i actually did sim us getting the 2nd pick my first time around. would love that #1 though.

#7 right now, not far from being #3, which gets us a somewhat decent chance at getting #1

I'd love to see Stern hook us up with #1 via 'frozen envelope' to help attract a new owner.

#7 right now, not far from being #3, which gets us a somewhat decent chance at getting #1

I'd love to see Stern hook us up with #1 via 'frozen envelope' to help attract a new owner.

Dubious. He'd be giving that to the Knicks to bail them..............oh wait............

This is the current standings at the bottom. I doubt anyone currently 3rd-9th worst can end up losing enough to catch NJ or Minny. But of those 3rd-9th teams which one(s) would Stern want to end up with the #1 pick if you believed in conspiracies?

Philadelphia 22 37
Washington 21 36
Detroit 21 38
Sacramento 20 39
New York 20 39
Indiana 20 39
Golden State 17 41
Minnesota 14 47
New Jersey 6 53

Remember NY doesn't get their pick. Those are all pretty shitty media markets. Philly and Detroit have solid markets but they are no Chicago/LA/NY that is for sure. Certainly NJ is close enough to NY to be considered a good media market.

How does that work anyway (NY media market)? Do they show Nets games in NY at all? I would assume Knicks get priority coverage. How do they do Rangers/Islanders? I know the Yanks have their own network, so that issue probably doesn't arise in MLB.

The Nets play on the YES Network which is the Yankee network. They are considered the NY market just like the Jets and Giants who play in New Jersey.

The Knicks are on MSG just like the Rangers and Islanders since they all play at the Garden. My bad, the Islanders don't play at the Garden but are telecast on MSG.

Thanks.

How on earth do they cover 3 teams on MSG at a time?

Edit - It looks like the show the Devils and Sabres on MSG too. But I see they have MSG, MSG Plus, MSG2 and MSG Plus2

Yeah, I guess you are never hurting for sports in NY.

IMO:

I can believe the Ewing thing but I don't believe in any other NBA Draft conspiracies...

IF there ever was ever gonna be conspiracy in the Lotto one would assume Tim Duncan was it.

The guy was a lock for the #1 pick, had stayed all 4 years in college and I'm guessing it was pretty much guaranteed he'd be pretty good.

The small market Spurs got him!

Why not Boston? Or Philly?

Wouldnt Stern have wanted TD in Philly or Boston instead of SA?

What about Lebron?

Chicago and New York were in the Lotto that year. Does anyone think Lebron in NY wouldn't have been super-orgasmic for David Stern?

Yet the team with the shittiest record got the top pick (rare event! maybe it was rigged?) and took the hometown boy.

The Cavs were in serious trouble, the hometown kid changed everything.

Not that I believe that it was rigged.

Define serious trouble, GD.

I know they stunk like monkey spunk before Lebron but...

Are you thinking they'd be sold/moved if they miss out on him?

Either way surely the league would prefer Lebron in NY regardless of the Cavs staying/going?

so right now, the worst case is 9th place, best case 4th most ping pong balls... if we could somehow get Wall, we could deal Stuckey for another lottery pick and draft a big, that would be awesome...

Isn't best case 1st place, no matter where in the lottery you are?

how is best case 4th?

Wouldn't best case = 1st?

We've still got a chance to get that #1. It rarely goes to the worst team.

That said I'd probably prefer #2 or #3.

Some team takes Wall, next team takes Favours or Turner and we get slops.

Are those 3 the "consensus" top 3 or is there someone else?

BTW, does anyone know whatever happened to some kid named Derrick Character (sp)?

Wasn't he supposed to be the next big thing one year?

He was saying best case # of balls. Not best case pick #.

I agree with him. I doubt we'd finish in the worst three teams. But at 4th worst you still have a pretty good shot at the #1 pick.

No one is going to give us a lottery pick for a guy who needs to be extended.

Stuckey will be on the last year of his rookie contract next year, after that he's a restricted FA... Washington gave up their pick for Miller/Foye, Stuckey should have the most trade value out of all Pistons, if he cant get us another lotto pick, nothing can.

Nothing can.

IF we don't get a top 3 pick are we gonna keep the pick?

Could Joe possibly use it to move Rip?

Say Minnesota still wanna deal Al Jefferson...

Rip + our Lotto pick for Jefferson and one of their 1st rounders (not their Lotto pick)

Once again the Wolves would have 2 Lotto picks (with an addition 1st) to add young talent around Love, Brewer, Flynn, Rubio.

Rip simply provides some leadership, a dependable veteran scorer that may help the development of the kids...

We land Jefferson as our starting PF/C and still have a pick to add a cheap player.

Jefferson has issues but he's a talented big, could play C with Nova at PF and is locked in long term.

I can think of worse options than Jefferson at C next season *cough* Chris Wilcox *cough*

Big difference between 4 and 9.

4th pick - 11.9% chance on Wall, 37.8% chance on a top 3 pick
9th pick - 1.7% chance on Wall, 6.1% chance on a top 3 pick

1st 2nd 3rd
4 .119 .126 .133
5 .088 .097 .107
6 .063 .071 .081
7 .043 .049 .058
8 .028 .033 .039
9 .017 .020 .024

Yeah, I drool over wall but those big men up in the top 4 would make a nice consolation prize. I say Cousins can keep his shit together long enough to give us a good 5 years at center.

Depending on where we land in the Lotto the pick could be extremely valuable to many teams.

I really think Joe should explore any and all possible trade routes with this pick as it might be his best opportunity to move Hamilton and make a major move.

Cause if we miss the playoffs again next season the knives will be out for him and Johnny Q.

It's also entirely possible John Hammond might get a little more credit for what happened in the past 10 years than he has got up to this point, especially if the Bucks start (continue?) to climb in the standings

Here's a good link to keep up on where we stand (currently tied for 6/7)

http://espn.go.com/nba/standings/_/group/1

Big difference between 4 and 9.

4th pick - 11.9% chance on Wall, 37.8% chance on a top 3 pick
9th pick - 1.7% chance on Wall, 6.1% chance on a top 3 pick

1st 2nd 3rd
4 .119 .126 .133
5 .088 .097 .107
6 .063 .071 .081
7 .043 .049 .058
8 .028 .033 .039
9 .017 .020 .024


Damn, nice work. I hate to say it, but I'm rooting for us to loose right now because of that. Being the 9th worst team means nothing (there is no momentum into next year). Getting a top 3 pick can go a long way to helping them next year though.

would love a player like greg monroe if we're not right near the top of the draft. LOVE that kid.

Here's a good link to keep up on where we stand (currently tied for 6/7)

http://espn.go.com/nba/standings/_/group/1

Two games out of 4th!

Shit's getting tight.

http://espn.go.com/nba/teams/schedule?team=was

Washington is riding a 7 game losing streak and probably won't win a single game this month, i guess they got the 4th worst record locked up...so its a battle between the Pacers, Pistons, Sixers, Knicks and Kings for 5-9

i hate this race, its obvious the Pistons are not tanking, they just suck, but i am not quit sure some of these other teams will try hard to lose some more games...

all lottery teams should have equal chances to win the lottery or get in the top 3, than tanking wouldnt be an issue

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Yes-Rodney-Carney-tanking-is-quite-possible;_ylt=AoWyTYOzCLRMS3sgmY0MKX.8vLYF?urn=nba ,228021

Nice article, THX.

More on tanking, and some interesting comments about Will Bynum in the power rankings.

http://www.sbnation.com/2010/3/16/1375410/nba-power-rankings-tanking-kevin-love-lebron-james-cavaliers-timberwolves-kobe-bryant

Earl Watson listed as a "crappy veteran" as well.

It's sad for me to admit that Earl is starting to fit that description, but it's been a nice, albeit unappreciated, career.

I'd still take him over Chucky, or AC (I'm a Denver fan now too of course).

Traitor

Lottery balls at stake tonight vs. Indy, and those bastards are keeping Granger out.

Let's start Stuckey and have him shoot 30+ times to counter that.

^ half the calories, all the G right there.

4th! (loss column)

Indy and Sac both win!

I haven't been paying attention to the standings, but that is pretty amazing to be the 4th worst team.

They're the worst in my heart.

fucking wizards lose in OT. no help to us...

come on knicks, hang in there!

just checked- wiz and pacers play each other tomorrow. i think there's a rule that one of them HAS to win. so that's good for us. lol

and the kings play the nets. so hopefully sac-town can get the W there.

Aren't the Nets so far in the lead that we'd want the Nets to beat Sac? I thought the Pistons and Sac are competing more than the Nets and Pistons.

hey, if you're going to suck anyway you might as well strive to be as sucky as possible.

knicks win over denver- oh happy day. we have a 3 game cushion with them in the loss column as far as draft positioning goes. considering we play the nets soon, we need these other teams to win as much as possible so we don't get screwed if we win here or there.

Aren't the Nets so far in the lead that we'd want the Nets to beat Sac? I thought the Pistons and Sac are competing more than the Nets and Pistons.

exactly. and a sacramento loss would be BAD for us. we need sacramento to WIN since no amount of wins by the nets would put us ahead of them. but some WINS by sacramento will help us be 'ahead' of them for draft positioning.

at this stage i'm not sure we can catch the warriors. so our best bet might be to get the #4 spot.

that being said, we are one back of the wizards. hopefully they can win some down the stretch.

we also need to be rooting hard for philly to win as they're just one back of us (ahead, but since we're counting losses!)

kings, pacers, knicks, and clippers are also teams we want to WIN down the stretch. that way a couple of wins by us won't drop us in the race for the higher pick.

http://espn.go.com/nba/standings/_/sort/winPercent/group/1

People need to keep in mind that this doesnt guarentee anything. It only improves our odds.

The odds of us finishing 4th and actually winding up with the 4th pick are very, very low. It's much more likely we either wind up 2nd, 3rd or or 5th.

exactly. and a sacramento loss would be BAD for us. we need sacramento to WIN since no amount of wins by the nets would put us ahead of them. but some WINS by sacramento will help us be 'ahead' of them for draft positioning.


I double negatived thinked my way in a circle and fucked that one up. As Glan says, the win column is the new loss...ah fuck it.

We all know what needs to happen.

People need to keep in mind that this doesnt guarentee anything. It only improves our odds.

The odds of us finishing 4th and actually winding up with the 4th pick are very, very low. It's much more likely we either wind up 2nd, 3rd or or 5th.

Well then... I'm all for guaranteeing that we improve our odds.

Even LLTP is on board!


George (Alma, Mich.): Everyone keeps asking who we will pick, but I am interested to hear your thoughts on where the Pistons will end up. As of Monday, they were in the No. 5 draft position. Do you see them moving up to four, down to seven or staying put at five? I hope they stay at four or five. Moving any lower, it seems there is a significant dropoff in talent.

Langlois: As of this morning, George, the Pistons have the No. 5 lottery position. Among the 14 lottery teams, there are three strata, basically. New Jersey, Golden State and Minnesota long ago locked up the top three. That doesn’t mean they’ll wind up with the top three picks, but that they’ll go into lottery night with the best odds at landing a top-three pick. Then there’s the group at the bottom of the lottery. That consists of four teams. Memphis, New Orleans and Houston, most likely, from the West; and probably Chicago from the East, though Toronto’s collapse is making it interesting. Those teams will have very long odds of getting a top-three pick and likely will end up drafting 11-14. The Pistons are in a group of seven in the middle – the LA Clippers, New York, Indiana, Philadelphia, Sacramento and Washington round out the lottery’s “middle class.” But over the last week or so, there’s come a substrata to the middle class. Indiana has gotten hot, winning four straight, and now has 26 wins to match the Clippers and Knicks. Philadelphia won at Milwaukee last night, putting the 76ers two games ahead of the Pistons. Washington is sinking, having lost 13 straight, and has two fewer wins than the Pistons with no easy way to find a win left on its schedule. The Wizards are a virtual lock to go into lottery night sitting fourth. The Pistons could definitely pull ahead of Sacramento, which lost at New Jersey last night and plays at Boston and Cleveland over the weekend. They also could still catch the Knicks, who have a brutal schedule remaining. I’ll be blogging more about this later today, George, so check Pistons.com later for my True Blue Pistons blog for a closer look at the final weeks of the season and the way the lottery is shaping up.

I sure hope Joe picks someone we've heard of.

I sure hope Joe picks someone we've heard of.

Yeah, like Donatas Motiejunas

Clippers win (good) and Bulls lose (not good).

I'd keep an eye on the Bulls, they may try to lose out. They need to get in the top 10 with their pick or the Bucks can swap places with them. I think they'll make sure that doesn't happen.

I'm starting to feel some hatred towards Joes right hand guy who went to the Bucks. It'll prolly get worse after this offseason.

I could see him outmaneuvering Joe.

Hammond's career arc, though much shorter, has been pretty Joe-like.



Genius? Jefferson --> Amir --> Nvm --> Jefferson --> Jennings ---> Jennings Retard.

I'm starting to feel some hatred towards Joes right hand guy who went to the Bucks. It'll prolly get worse after this offseason.

I could see him outmaneuvering Joe.


i could see that, just due to the simple fact that joe has packed on about 40 lbs.

It has to look now like we are pretty much locked in the 5-7 slot. Washington and Golden State are more than a game behind us, and Philly and Sac are a 1-2 games ahead. Big difference between 5 and 7 IMO.

i could see that, just due to the simple fact that joe has packed on about 40 lbs.

:insensitive:

FH

a loss tonight would be huge since it's an 'expected win'. (if there are any of those on our schedule anymore.)

C'mon boys, YOU CAN DO IT!!

This thread = The official rest of the way GT?

Starting Bynum is basically admitting you have no desire at all to win games.

damn the Pistons suck...but of course we would have destroyed the Nets starting the greatest PG ever Rodney Stuckey!

Not sure if I should get excited about tonights loss or not. I'm thinking it didn't hurt anything.

Nets....... 63
Minni...... 59
Warriors.. 51
Wiz........ 50
Kings...... 49
"US"....... 49

i did not expect us to lose tonight. but i'm thrilled. too bad the wizards or kings didn't help us out and win tonight.

probably won't 'catch' the wizards, but the kings are right on our heels and i'm worried they'll slide 'ahead' of us. we have half a game on them now but are tied in the loss column.

great news that indy and philly won tonight though. we have 2.5 games on philly now and 3 on indy. not a safe 'lead' but definitely makes me more confident that we'll probably finish ahead of them in the race for the higher spot.

the kings are really the team we need to concern ourselves with. it would be nice to be 5th. i don't think we'll get up to 4th as i said before. but 5th seems very attainable. at worst i think we'll be 6th, which would mean our worst possible outcome would be the #9 pick. REALLY need to get a top 5 though.

Nets....... 63
Minni...... 59
Warriors.. 51
Wiz........ 50
Kings...... 49
"US"....... 49


we're actually ahead of the kings for the 5th spot right now though- they have 1 win on us which is good. so if we keep losing then we're good. what are the tiebreakers? is it straight coin flip? head to head? conference records? anyone know?

We're so bad, it's good.

Starting Bynum is basically admitting you have no desire at all to win games.
Clearly, Stuckey's defense against superstars Lopez and Jianlian was stellar.

the Kings are "competing" very hard for that 5th spot...

http://espn.go.com/nba/teams/schedule?team=sac

lets hope they can win some of their homegames in april

I'd be happy with a Top 7 pick - maybe we can land Aldrich?

Even a blind squirrel knows we need a big man, right Joe?

The blind squirrel actually has a better drafting record than Joe.

uh yeah. i just looked at the kings schedule versus ours.....it's hard to imagine them not finishing ahead of us. (or behind, depends how you look at it) their schedule is way tougher than ours down the stretch.

fuckity fuck fuck.

We just lost to the nets. never underestimate the power of sucking.

lol- true dat. makes you wonder if we're the worst team in the league right now though.

if not for our not so horrible record at the 1/4, we might be competing with the nets for the worst record.

because since the allstar break, i would have to say we might be the worst team in the league. not sure, record wise. but it's sure looked like it.

the loss to the nets was a perfect example of that.

To guarantee a better chance why aren't DaJuan Summers and Austin Daye playing 20 minutes per?

I understand (hope?) we want to showcase Tayshaun and Rip to some extent but if Joe wishes to play the "internal development that is going to "propel us back to the playoffs" card then it's time to let the kids play.

Maxiell, Nova, Wilcox and Jonas need to all play big minutes up front.

Summers and Daye need to be playing as much as possible behind Rip and Tay.

BG and Bynum can play all the PG minutes as we shut Stuckey down for the remainder.

It's not tanking - it's all about development.

Developing BG's PG skills improves the team.

Developing Summers and Daye improves the team.

Allowing Maxiell and the other bigs to log huge minutes allows them to develop confidence in their abilities which improves the team...

See - I can justify tanking without even mentioning a better chance of a higher pick

^agree 100%. it just makes no sense. there is no chance of achieving anything, so why not watch and develop the kids?

let them get REAL playing time. it's extremely stupid that daye and summers are not playing 20+ minutes. it's not like they're lazy rookies who haven't worked hard. so reward them with some real gametime and help accelerate their maturity and development a bit.

what we're doing now makes no sense, no matter how you look at it.

I can see why they're playing Rip and Tay 30+ minutes.

I hope it's to show teams that neither has lost a step, neither is DONE and that both are worthwhile trading for because they're winners stuck in a bad situation.

I simply believe you can prove all that while still playing the young guys more minutes.

It requires taking Stuckey out of the line-up but Stuckey has his medical issues that are far more important than basketball games.

His absence means BG must play minutes at PG, because Chucky isn't "good enough".

Removing Stuckey opens up a ton of time for Summers/Daye and if we were to lessen the minutes of Rip and Tay a little it's quite possible Summers and Daye could average 20 minutes the rest of the way.

Most teams guaranteed of finishing in the Lotto do it - so why don't we?

It requires taking Stuckey out of the line-up but Stuckey has his medical issues that are far more important than basketball games.
Solely from a contract renewal perspective, I don't get why we play Stuckey. All he can do is add value beyond the low value he had when he collapsed. Bench him, offer an MLE level contract extension or even less, and defy any team out there to offer him more.

As usual, Mxy brings the winning perspective.

I say we give Mxy the MLE.

or give him Joe's job

well rip isn't really helping his trade value lately. and i don't think prince needs to really, since he's an expiring contract next year, right? that should make him attractive enough.

Agreed, I don't mind Rip still getting some burn... hopefully it will improve his 40% shooting.... we already know what our SGs can do.... OTOH Tay has played well lately... his value is pretty good... go ahead and pull the plug on him so the rooks can go into the offseason better for the experience.

Rip will be gone in the offseason and Tay at the deadline is my guess.

Warriors only down 3 to the clips at the clip joint.

GS up 10.

wow almost up 20 at the half.

14 late in the 3rd.

down to 10 and Clips have the ball.

The Wiz have games left with Chicago, NJ, Golden State, the Knicks and the Pacers. It's not out of the question that we could pass them.

Dan (MN)
Based off of your Pacer's comment, are you a supporter of teams intentionally tanking late in the year?

Chad Ford (1:20 PM)
Yes. The NBA gives them an incentive to do so. If tanking now gives me the chance to win MORE games next year, of course you do it. And I think the fans understand. What do you think Pacers fans want? Another three or four meaningless wins in late March/April or John Wall or Evan Turner?

What do you think Pacers fans want? Another three or four meaningless wins in late March/April or John Wall or Evan Turner?

^ You never know for sure...we are talking about Pacer fans here.

There's a couple of big games tonight.

^ you weren't kidding- almost every game on the schedule holds some significance for us. we need the kings, sixers, clippers, and wiz to win. bulls game doesn't matter...

the kings are half a game 'behind' us in the race for the higher pick. so we really need them to beat the pacers. if indy wins, we can pretty much stop worrying about them but we'll then be tied with the kings, which isn't good.

the sixers are 3 games from us so we have a bit of breathing room. a win by them and it grows a bit more. same for the clippers who are 4 games behind (ahead) of us.

we have to make up 1.5 games on the wizards to leapfrog them for a higher pick. so here's to hoping they win tonight!

Sac fiddytoo Pacers fordyfree

Pacer Girls have me thinking impure thoughts.

Pacers up by friggin 8...has me thinkin impure thoughts too.

yeah the one team we NEEDED to win tonight, won't. kings lose to pacers. :o(

philly is going to lose, and clippers are down big at the half- although that's not as important.

last hope is the wizards win. lots of game left. come on wiz!!!!

wiz up 4, under 7 to go! of course they'll lose, but it's fun to hope....

Anyone watching this?

Dude just intentionally traveled if I ever saw one. And then goes down and goal tends a shot that was questionable at best.

Wiz up 1.

Boykins was fouled on a 3. Makes 1 of 3.

Tahoe, the best PBP man in the biz.

^ Hell yes, I am.

Up high!

http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/1687/highfive7.jpg

http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/265/ballmerhighfive1.jpg

yup. of course wiz lose in the end. *sigh*

bad night for us.

http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/265/ballmerhighfive1.jpg

http://thehanafudatimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2535880881_63e2a269c0.jpg

A couple of good ones tonight, including Sacto/Minny.

yeah and the kings are down 9 at the half. that actually sucks since we're not likely to pass the t-wolves. we won't actually.

so we need the kings to win. but of course, they won't!

we're losing though. so we'll at least keep pace with them i guess.

wiz are up at the half. which means nothing since they will choke down the stretch....

warrior in utah later. can't imagine them winning although it would be great for us.

Washington won, that helps. Here is a look at the lottery positions in play for the Pistons:

#3 Warriors 21-53
NY Knicks
@ Toronto
@ Washington
@ Minnesota
@ LA Clippers
Oklahoma City
Utah
@ Portland
4 bad teams on schedule

#4 Wizards 22-52
Chicago
New Jersey
Golden State
@ Orlando
@ Boston
Atlanta
@ NY Knicks
Indiana
4 bad teams on schedule

#5 Pistons 23-51
Phoenix
@ Atlanta
@ Philadelphia
Atlanta
@ Miami
@ Charlotte
Toronto
@ Minnesota
1 bad team on schedule

#6 Kings 24-52
Portland
San Antonio
LA Clippers
Dallas
Houston
@ LA Lakers
1 bad team on schedule

As you can see the Wiz and Warriors have lots of chances to pick up a few wins. We have to make sure and not win a couple and let the Kings pass us though (they have a hard schedule too).

How do tiebreakers work, again?

its basically a coin flip. They keep doing 50/50 drawings between two teams tied with the same shitty record until there's no ties left.

Any guesses on our starting lineup for that Minnesota game? Last game of the year, on the road.

#5 Pistons 23-51
Phoenix
@ Atlanta
@ Philadelphia
Atlanta
@ Miami
@ Charlotte
Toronto
@ Minnesota
1 bad team on schedule



Not to nitpick, but how is that not 2 bad teams?

Not to nitpick, but how is that not 2 bad teams?
Toronto at home's probably pretty winnable too.

Toronto at home's probably pretty winnable too.

Hopefully we're starting

Atkins
Gordon
Summers
Charlie V
Kwame

by that point

Not to nitpick, but how is that not 2 bad teams?

Yeah, I missed Philly. For some reason I thought they were up near Chicago in the standings. At any rate, there are plenty of chances for the two teams below us to get a few wins.