Is The NBA’s Conspiracy Theory Alive And Well …. Or Is It Dead And Buried?

No Comments May 25, 2017 Basketball By John Stellman

Was this year’s NBA Draft Lottery rigged?

Again?

YES!…Read on.

The very first lottery took place on June 18, 1985 in New York City.

The prize that year was Patrick Ewing, the consensus No. 1 selection.

And how convenient that the hometown Knicks’ (24-58) emerged as the initial lottery winner.

Scratching Their Collective Heads

A shocking turn of events that left the Warriors and the Pacers, who shared the league’s worst record (22-60), stunned.

In previous seasons, those two teams would have flipped a coin for that top pick.

Nonetheless, the foundation for what would transpire was apparently laid several months earlier when rumors first surfaced in Hawaii.

Current Dodger President and Chief Executive Office Stan Kasten, then the general manager of the Hawks, was attending a college tournament.

“I was sitting with a couple of NBA guys,” says Kasten, “and I remember one high ranking team executive, who I will not name, was a million percent convinced of what was going to happen.

” ‘He (Patrick Ewing) is going to the Knicks‘,’ he kept saying. ‘He’s going to the Knicks’. It’s all arranged.’?” Kasten pauses, chuckles. “I didn’t believe him at the time.”

Just The Beginning!

Was this the start of collusion?

The birth of the conspiracy theory?

Perhaps.

Behind closed doors, Manhattan’s most influential deal breakers were evidently working around the clock to make Ewing – to – New York happen.

Coincidentally, the NBA’s four-year, $91.9 million TV deal with CBS was set to expire after the season.

America isn’t going to flock to their television sets to watch a Sacramento game even if Ewing is suited up. There is however, a greater probability that they WILL watch him play in the Big Apple.

Before the lottery, the New York Times wrote, “There is a strong feeling among league officials and television advertising executives that the NBA will benefit most if [Ewing] winds up in a Knicks’ uniform.”

Commissioner’s Involvement

So, did David Stern make that happen?

The brash, 41-year old new kid on the block, apparently wasn’t about to allow Ewing to escape New York.

Stern couldn’t take the chance that, along with the Warriors and Pacers, the Sonics, Clippers and Kings, all with 31-51 records, or the Hawks (34-48), could end up with Ewing.

All seven non-playoff teams would have had an equal 14.3% chance of selecting the future Hall Of Famer.

Then there were the Knicks, devastated by crippling injuries (Bernard King, Bill Cartwright) that resulted in their worst campaign in 20 years. Madison Square Garden had become a morgue.

Local Kid

Curiously, Stern, who grew up in New York, was a lifetime Knicks’ fan who probably didn’t like seeing the plethora of empty seats.

So how could he best fill those seats up?

Patrick Ewing!

So how did Stern pull it off?

There are a couple of scenarios that suggest the envelopes containing the names of each team were perhaps tainted.

A television station in Indianapolis, that used a freeze-frame, was able to point out that the corner of the Knicks’ envelope was bent.

Other reports surfaced claiming that the Knicks’ envelope had been placed in a freezer, so that it would be colder to the touch and easier for Stern to pick out.

No Problem Here

Regardless, it appears that Stern wouldn’t have any problem detecting the Knicks’ envelope.

Coincidentally, general manager Dave DeBusschere just happened to have a Knicks’ number 33 jersey with him, ready for the occasion.

The following day, a New York tabloid reported a damning fact: Ernst & Whinney, who had the sealed envelopes in their possession, just happened to be the auditing firm for Gulf & Western, which owned the Knicks.

Asked about the possibility of a fix, Madison Square Garden president Jack Krumpe responded, “Hey, I told them how to fix it 60 days ago. You call up Ernst & Whinney and you say, ‘If we don’t get Ewing, you’re fired.’?”

The threat apparently worked. Nobody lost their job. And the Knicks’ got their guy.

Stern All Smiles

Nonetheless, the commissioner was elated by what he considered a successful lottery.

“We were very pleased with the lottery,” Stern told the press. “The interest was great. People are talking about the lottery instead of drugs, unauthorized franchise moves or anything else negative.”

Yet the conspiracy theorists weren’t going away.

Several years later they were quick to point out that Orlando, an expansion team, won the lottery in 1992 (Shaquille O’Neal) and 1993 (Chris Webber).

Washington got the top pick (Kwame Brown) in 2001 after Michael Jordan purchased part of the team.

Then, in 2012 when Tom Benson purchased the Hornets from the league, the thankful NBA rewarded him with the No, l selection (Anthony Davis).

And in 2013 and 2014 Cleveland grabbed Anthony Bennett and Andrew Wiggins with top picks.

Can’t Remember Or Doesn’t Want To

Fittingly, with each passing year, Stern’s memory fades.

“I can’t remember that much,” the now retired commissioner admits.

Stern says he never really thought about the possibility of the Knicks’ winning that lottery and the repercussions that would follow.

I beg your pardon?

There was even a testy response to nationally syndicated sports talk show host Jim Rome when, in 2012, he discussed the topic with Stern.

“Was the fix in for the lottery?” Rome asked.

“I have two answers for that, I’ll give you the easy one, NO!

“And a statement: Shame on you for asking,” Stern fumed.

The question deserved to be asked.

And there are still those who question whether or not Stern was being completely truthful.

Hush, Hush Hard

“It’s just not that easy to keep conspiracies quiet,” replied Kasten.

Said former GM Pat Williams, “In my experience, it’s not that easy to keep anything in this business quiet if more than one person knows about it.”

The jury seems to be out on whether or not Stern did, in fact, rig the lottery.

“I can see him doing it,” says one prominent agent. “But so what if he did? It worked out. He helped save the league.”

Even today, there are those who say that mysteriously, Lakers have benefited from the lottery.

This year’s June draft will mark the third straight year the Lakers have picked second in the first round.

Astonishingly, the odds of them obtaining that selection were a meager 15.74%.

And the benefit was two-fold. Not only did they keep their pick, but they weren’t required to ship their No, 1 selection in 2019 to Orlando (Dwight Howard signing).

Another Troubling Scenerio

Conspirists are floating the rumor that the league “fixed” those picks to compensate the Lakers for Stern voiding their ill-fated acquisition of Chris Paul.

The Lakers subsequently selected D’Angels Russell (2015) and Brandon Ingram (2016) and are considering the selection of Lonzo Ball with this year’s pick.

Ball, the local kid from Chino Hills High School and UCLA, has made it known he wants to stay home.

He is a gifted pass-first, shoot-second athlete reminiscent of Magic Johnson.

Now this is not to say he is another Magic. But he has great court vision and the ability to get the ball to open teammates who are in a position to score.

Dad Doesn’t Know Best

Father LaVar is another story.

A loose cannon, the elder Ball nonetheless grabs the attention of the media with his brash statements and sometimes nonsensical comments..

Never out of the public eye, LaVar needs to stay out of Luke Walton’s’ sight.

As far as the kid is concerned, I LOVE LONZO!

Like many executives around the league, I would not let LaVar’s brazen behavior deter from the selection of his son.

Lonzo’s selection would add another youthful piece to an energetic and exciting cast that would dominate the headlines and sports talk radio.

One Eastern Conference executive, who’s team did not participate in the lottery, told Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times:”C’mon, man. We all knew the Lakers were not going to lose their pick. It was 100% going to happen for them. Please!”

So back to the original question: Was this year’s NBA Draft Lottery rigged?

I’ve shared my thoughts. What about you?

Chris Ballard Contributed To This Article

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John Stellman

I was born with sports in my blood. I began coaching little league baseball at 15. I was the sports editor of my high school newspaper. I did football play by play for the college radio station. I broadcast high school basketball for a local commercial station. But baseball was always my passion. During the 1970's I covered the Angels for the Orange County Register. And now I am back where I belong...