The Official Washington Basketball Thread (Wizards, Mystics)

[Spaceman Spiff]

I can't take the NBA seriously anymore. I really can't. I mean, I'll always keep a casual eye on it because I like some players and I want to root against the Celtics and stuff like that but this is a goddamn joke. This isn't even about the Wizards getting fucked AGAIN...I'd be more understanding if a team that had a legit opportunity to get the #1 overall pick did. Like, if Philly got #1 and Flagg, that sucks but fine. They had a legit chance.

They don't even broadcast the ping pong balls. The farce is so bad that they don't even have to show it to you and people will still watch. It's is a small step above the WWE.

This is egregious.

[The Evil Genius]

I think they stopped showing the ping pong balls back in 2023.

As for the Wiz, unlike the Jazz, I don't think they tanked last year. They started a rebuild towards a largely youngish cheaper team for the future with an idea that a top 1-3 pick would continue the rebuild. The Jazz did tank, as evidenced by them getting hit with multiple player participation policy fines.

That said, I don't think any of the lotto teams should drop more than 1 spot. That seems more fair than anything else.

Just make the top pick worth something and if you don't get it, the worst is you drop 1 position.

[abdcskins]

It is certainly a farce that none of the worst three teams are in the top 3. Frankly I don't give a rat's ass if a team tanks, just let the worst teams pick in order like the NFL. The only way bad teams improve in the NBA is through the draft. Sure maybe occasionally you can trade for a player like AJ Johnson and pray, but that is so rare.

I have been saying the past few years that it is going to take until 2034 for the Wizards to be competitive again, and honestly this is why. Hitting on a generational talent in the draft takes pure luck and the NBA not screwing you in the derriere.

[Warhead36]

I'm not angry that we didn't win the lottery. What's annoying is that the Mavs won it. I don't get how a team that already lucked into a franchise generational superstar and gave him away for peanuts gets rewarded with another. The Mavs are officially a dog doo doo trash tier franchise. I'd have been okay if the Hornets or Jazz won it but the Mavs winning it was like the absolute worst case scenario (maybe Philly would have been worse).

[Renegade7]

[The Sisko]

I'm not angry that we didn't win the lottery. What's annoying is that the Mavs won it. I don't get how a team that already lucked into a franchise generational superstar and gave him away for peanuts gets rewarded with another. The Mavs are officially a dog doo doo trash tier franchise. I'd have been okay if the Hornets or Jazz won it but the Mavs winning it was like the absolute worst case scenario (Philly would have absolutely been worse).

FTFY

[Spaceman Spiff]

Just cause you dug and found them doing the ping pong balls doesn't mean the shit ain't fixed. Congrats on 50k views with 23 million followers, NBA, real transparency there.

I saw it on twitter last night, something like "if you wanna make people think your thing isn't rigged, your thing can't have results to make people think it's rigged."

This is absurd. They trade Luka to the Lakers in an all-time absolute WTF deal and then they get Flagg? How is the NBA not behind getting Luka to a premier franchise to pair with LeBron and dominate the headlines for months? How do the Spurs get the #2 pick? How desperate are they to get Wembanyama running mates in order to make him the next face of the league? How do none of the top 3 worst teams don't get a top 3 pick? It's absolutely fishy as hell that the Mavs get Flagg...how do you explain the Spurs getting the #2 pick on top of it?

@abdcskins is absolutely right. The Wizards will never be good until they can hit on a generational talent in the draft. That's the only reason the Bucks have been relevant for the past decade, they hit on Giannis with the 15th pick in 2013. Does anyone think for a second that if the NBA could do it all over and knew how Giannis would turn out that they'd let him go to the Bucks? You're lying if you say yes.

[Renegade7]

@Spaceman Spiff I've said my piece on the NBA acting like WWF.

I posted that because I found it the other night with respect to them hiding the pinballs...I thought they too until I found out they don't.

Playin teams shouldn't also be lottery teams, full stop.

[The Evil Genius]

Wiz probably don't even need to hit on generational talents to be good. They just need to actually draft talented NBA players in the lottery.

They took Kispert at 15 in 2021. Sengun was taken next.

In 2022, they took Johny Davis at 10 and Jalen Williams was taken at 12.

That's probably true of a lot of teams but the Wiz just seem like they are comically bad at it.

[Spaceman Spiff]

@Spaceman Spiff I've said my piece on the NBA acting like WWF.

I posted that because I found it the other night with respect to them hiding the pinballs...I thought they too until I found out they don't.

Playin teams shouldn't also be lottery teams, full stop.

Forgive me, I'm not aware of your stance about the NBA acting like the WWF.