Lottery

Wow it's been awhile. Too long really. I got a little distracted with the warm weather and last week I started a new job so I've been adjusting to my new schedule and the column just plain slipped my mind. Most likely because there hasn't been a heck of a lot of interesting things going on in sports. The NBA playoffs are trudging along and Baseball is still going strong but I can honestly say that the thing that got me the most excited was the NBA draft lottery. Depending on how good the draft class is this event can range from mildly intriguing to down right exciting. With this years absolutely loaded draft class it fell into the latter category. So that got me thinking. The NBA lottery stirs up a lot of excitement for its draft and it clearly has a positive effect on the NBA. But would it also work in other sports like baseball or football or is it just suited to the NBA?

There's a couple of reasons why it's ideal for the NBA.

1) There are so few players on a team that one legit superstar can mean the difference from being a contender to being the league's laughingstock.

2) The talent disparity between picks is dramatic. Often times there is one can't miss player and a bunch of question marks (Not always) Also the proportion of first round picks who become busts is large (due to the small roster sizes) therefore the higher your pick the greater the chance of an impact player which doubles in importance because of point number one.

So with those two previous points it's obvious why having a lottery adds to the excitement of the draft and hopefully will prevent tanking because just as the Celtics and Bucks found out last week increasing your odds of a top pick doesn't necessarily get you anywhere.

So will this work in Major League Baseball?
Probably not. The draft is already a non event for everyone except hardcore baseball fans so it wouldn't add any excitement level. Also baseball prospects don't' make an immediate impact and there is rarely a consensus top pick. So I can't really see the point for Baseball.

Well what about the NFL?
Even though there is a general consensus of the top overall player, seldom does that player get taken first overall unless he's a QB. Most teams end up picking for need so there doesn't seem to be a functional reason to do it. Also one player rarely turns around an entire franchise with a couple of notable exceptions (mostly QB's) However the NFL draft is huge. So I'm sure it would generate some buzz. But does the NFL really need it? After the Super Bowl there's Senior Bowl week which shortly leads into the combine, which leads into private workouts, which leads up to the draft. There's doesn't seem to be any time lag where they could use a jolt of attention.

So after careful analysis the draft lottery seems perfect for the NBA and only the NBA. I look forward to it ever year and maybe just one sport having it is enough.

(I'm perfectly aware the NHL uses it but come on that's not really a major sport)