[Game] 54/82: Kings vs. Cavaliers 07 FEB 2026, 7pm PT/10pm ET

[sactowndog]

If you want to believe that Dallas just happened to organically get the #1 pick, when they had a 1.8% of doing so,...while "coincidentally" it was right after they traded Doncic to the Lakers, be my guest

Sure which is why being the #1 seed matters. Then no matter who they jump us we get a good player.

 

[Padrino]

The NBA has been corrupt for a long time. I know that's hard for some to believe and accept. Especially those that have invested a lot of time, money, and emotion into more than just the games

Corrupt? Jesus, the melodrama. I understand there's no reasoning with tinfoil hatters, but some of you just need to recognize the logistical impossibility of trying to pull off the heist you're suggesting at the scale you're suggesting. It's Hollywood stuff. Fantasyland.

 

[Warhawk]

Even if teams suspected it, there is very little to nothing they can do without concrete proof. So why go there, if they're making a lot of profit anyways? I sense that you've made up your mind on this, no matter what anybody says. Don't know what to tell you, if you've watched the league close and believe that it's all organic. That's Ok

So, basically, you can't answer and the best you can do is: "BECAUSE I THINK SO!"

Gotcha.

No team is going to willingly let other teams get the first-round pick via fraud. Ever. That's the REASON for the accounting firm oversight.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

Corrupt? Jesus, the melodrama. I understand there's no reasoning with tinfoil hatters, but some of you just need to recognize the logistical impossibility of trying to pull off the heist you're suggesting at the scale you're suggesting. It's Hollywood stuff. Fantasyland.

The probability that Dallas would win the lottery last year organically was 1.8%. (And the probability that some team with odds under 4% would win was 12.5% - so one in eight.)
I would assess the probability that the NBA could rig the draft lottery, given what we know, as several orders of magnitude smaller than that.
Organically is by far the better explanation.

By the way, I don't remember ever seeing one person, anywhere, predict that Dallas might be "gifted" the lottery due to the Doncic trade. As best as I saw, that narrative arose after the event had already happened. Similar narratives could easily be written for other teams, but because those other teams didn't win the lottery, those narratives never got written in the first place.

For what it's worth, I assess the probability that the NBA leans on its officials to call more fouls in favor of the Lakers as somewhere between "pretty likely" and "probably".

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

So, basically, you can't answer and the best you can do is: "BECAUSE I THINK SO!"

Gotcha.

No team is going to willingly let other teams get the first-round pick via fraud. Ever. That's the REASON for the accounting firm oversight.

No problem. I will leave you be with your beliefs and won't bother you with the subject further. I know it seems to be very emotional for some

 

[Insomniacal Fan]

So, basically, you can't answer and the best you can do is: "BECAUSE I THINK SO!"

Gotcha.

No team is going to willingly let other teams get the first-round pick via fraud. Ever. That's the REASON for the accounting firm oversight.

I don't want to overstate the value that comes with bringing in the big accounting firm, Arthur Andersen did blow up its business for < 1% of its revenue( and shredded its reputation destroying documents related to Enron). Accountants can be evil idiots too, and that's why the big 5 is now the big 4.

The NBA itself is ultimately just 30 billionaires, and I don't see why these days anyone would trust a billionaire who's standing outside of machete range.

But in the absence of trust, there are stakes. And that might be the best anyone can do for the type of organization the NBA is.