Lottery Pickin' Ain't Easy

While yours truly was personally pulling for the Nets represented by Jay-Z to win the number one pick in the NBA draft lottery last night, I was blown away as the Chicago Bulls snuck their way to the top to win the No. 1 pick in 2008. You could see the shock on everyone's faces as the Bulls had only a 1.9% chance of winning the lottery and teams like the Miami Heat (who had the worst record in the NBA) had a 25% chance of winning. So I have to ask, what's the deal with the lottery?

It appears to me that there is something wrong when a team that almost made the playoffs the previous season has even the slightest chance to win the draft lottery, let alone win it. And how unfortunate for those horrible teams that slid a spot or two because another team vaulted in front of them. For the Sonics who slid 2 spots, they are now projected to get Jerryd Bayless instead of Michael Beasley or Derrick Rose. Bummer.

And as quick as I am to ask what's wrong with this drafting method, I am also quick to say, thank goodness. This is one of the few safety nets in professional sports that prevents a team from packing it up early and tanking for the rest of season to secure a strong draft position. Perhaps the NFL could learn a thing or two from the NBA when it comes to this point. Besides, then we might get to see a few more rappers representing teams while simultaneously making the commissioner a little uncomfortable that they might forget to take out their grillz. Now that would be P.I.M.P.