NBA draft lottery can be 'rigged' for all 14 teams

Conspiracy theorists have cried foul following the NBA’s annual draft lottery since its inception in 1985, when the Knicks won the right to select Patrick Ewing first overall on 7 to 1 odds.

Last year, the suspicion stemmed from the fact that the NBA temporarily owned the New Orleans Hornets (now Pelicans) during a transition to current franchise owner Tom Benson, and the league wanted to maximize the value of the team by rigging the lottery in New Orleans’ favor.

Call me crazy, but I trust that the NBA does not rig the system it uses to determine which teams draft first, second and third. If the league really wanted to fix things, the Knicks would have picked first again at least once since taking Ewing, and smaller-market cities such as Portland and Milwaukee wouldn’t have won the lottery in past 10 years.

But let’s face it, nothing will stop the mistrust for a system meant to keep teams from tanking in order to secure the top pick. So rather than keep fighting it, I’m gonna do all of those suspicious sports fans a favor and offer convenient reasons for all 14 teams who could wind up with the No. 1 pick after tonight’s lottery (8:30 p.m. on ESPN) as to why the NBA would want them to pick first. (Note: I don’t subscribe to any of these theories).