2019 NBA Draft Lottery: Revised system works as in intended; Pelicans shock nabbing top pick

The 2019 NBA Draft Lottery witnessed all three favorites miss the coveted top pick while the Pelicans vault into the catbird seat. The OKC Thunder will feel the burn as well since four of the top six picks went to Western squads.

When the NBA brain trust decided to revamp the old system to shift odds and stop tanking once and for all, it’s unlikely they envisioned the inaugural year going much better than it did Tuesday night. For the OKC Thunder and teams in the West, they probably felt pretty happy going into the draft lottery.

After all, five of the six teams with the best odds were East clubs and if balls bounced similarly to previous seasons there was a good chance eight of the top nine picks were headed East.

Ahhh- and there is the lesson. This was not the old system.

Throughout the year squads still actively attempted to finish in the bottom three of the Association. While teams like the OKC Thunder feasted on those squads it seemed the only thing that changed was more teams were trying to tank in order to enter the draft night with a 14 percent shot at the top pick.

In fairness, it’s hard to blame the New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns or Cleveland Cavaliers given the prize was Zion Williamson. The Duke forward is considered a generational talent with the potential to immediately transform a franchise. Moreover, this draft class is particularly thin. There is a consensus top three and a pretty solid top five to seven but after that, it’s a huge drop-off with the rest of the field

Pre-draft lottery TI repeatedly highlighted how the middle seeds (6 – 9) could see the biggest shifts potentially moving up to land the fourth seed. Little did we envision them moving all the way up to steal away the top two draft picks.

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Neither the Pelicans or Grizzlies (who had a six and eight percent shot) were expected to make that drastic of a jump. Conversely, the Suns and Cavaliers tank job didn’t deliver Zion or even a top three seed.

Only the Knicks managed to stay in that tier. Albeit fans from the Mecca got equal heartbreak as they watched the Suns and Cavs fall out of the race leading them to think they were going to win the Zion Sweepstakes. And then their hopes were crushed as Memphis and New Orleans were the last teams standing.

The moral of this lottery draft is the new system has made the lottery what it was intended to be – a draw of luck.

For Adam Silver, this is a huge win. At one point this season avid Knicks fan Spike Lee sat in the audience at the Oscars and told the world his Knicks were tanking. It’s likely Silver cringed during  Lee’s comments but again, last night’s result bore fruit.

The fact none of the bottom three teams landed the top pick while middling squads moved up should lessen the propensity of multiple squads entering the season with the specific intent of tanking.  That, in turn, should equate to more competitive games league wide. And that’s a win for everyone.