The Hornets win the 2012 NBA draft lottery

By Adrian Wojnarowski | Yahoo! Sports

MIAMI – This was the fitting end to one of the darkest, most unseemly episodes in the history of the NBA, the perfect punctuation on the commissioner's manipulation of the sale and salvation of a lost franchise.

The New Orleans Hornets won the draft lottery and get to pick one of the most transcendent prospects in years, Kentucky's Anthony Davis. The NBA-owned New Orleans Hornets, with a 13.7 percent chance, won the lottery. For over a year, David Stern pushed hard to get maximum value for his owners on the re-sale of the Hornets, and Tom Benson gave Stern an asking price and an assurance the franchise wouldn't leave New Orleans.

"It's such a joke that the league made the new owners be at the lottery for the show," one high-ranking team executive told Yahoo! Sports. "The league still owns the Hornets. Ask their front office if new owners can make a trade right now. They can't. This is a joke."

The reaction of several league executives was part disgust, part resignation on Wednesday night. So many had predicted this happening, so many suspected that somehow, someway, the Hornets would walk away with Davis. That's the worst part for the NBA; these aren't the railings from the guy sitting at the corner tavern, but the belief of those working within the machinery that something undue happened here, that they suspect it happens all the time under Stern.

There's no proof, and there will never be proof. Yet, there's an appearance of impropriety – always an appearance – that marches arm-and-arm with Stern into the twilight of his commissionership, marches right out the door with him.

In New Orleans this season, everyone followed orders. The Hornets feared crossing Stern could cost them not only jobs with the Hornets, but futures in the NBA. They ate that trade for Chris Paul to the Lakers, and dutifully sold the commissioner's story that it was never agreed upon, never completed. The Hornets played Darryl Watkins, Jerome Dyson and Lance Thomas 41-plus minutes in the final game of the season in an 84-77 loss to Houston. They played them until the Hornets bottomed out with six points in the fourth quarter of the loss that left them at 21-45 for the season.

"I bet I could get my owner to tank if I knew the chance of getting the No. 1 pick was 100 percent," an NBA team president said in an email.

Perhaps this is too harsh, but it's how rivals feel; a lot of them. They're suspicious, dubious, and the Hornets' winning the lottery fed all of that in an immense way. Monty Williams had the Hornets playing hard for so much of the season, making the most out of so little. They weren't designed to win 21 games in that shortened schedule, and that's a credit to Williams, one of the NBA's fine young coaches.

This is the problem for Stern, and will always be: Within his own league, they're dubious about him, his underlings, about the centralized power structure in New York. Stern created the mayhem of the Hornets season – the vetoed Paul trade that disrupted the operations and balance of several teams – and the fallout never relented. Here comes Tom Benson now, whose NFL organization is mired in one of the great institutional scandals in pro sports history, walking into New York for the draft lottery with a bad team, in a bad arena, and leaving with a franchise star.

Yes, the Hornets are staying in New Orleans, and that's wonderful news for the people there, for the NBA. All around the league, though, everyone will forever wonder: At what cost?

NEW YORK (AP) After a painful wait for a new owner, the search for a new star was a breeze for the New Orleans Hornets.

All it took was a little luck of the draw.

And Anthony Davis can't wait to play as a pro in the city where he won a championship in college.

The Hornets, recently sold by the NBA to Saints owner Tom Benson, won the league's draft lottery Wednesday and the No. 1 pick overall - which they almost certainly will use to select the consensus college player of the year who led Kentucky to a national title.

He could be joined by another young piece, as the Hornets also have the No. 10 pick.

''I'm excited for our fans, especially those people who hung in there with us,'' said coach Monty Williams, who represented the Hornets on stage and insisted his team keep playing hard as its difficult season was ending, even though it could have hurt its chances of landing a high pick.

''I'm excited for the Benson family. They bought this organization without knowing what pick we were going to have. And yet I'm mindful of all the work that is going to have to be done for us to be a good team. You can't skip those steps. ... Those two young guys can't help us become a championship team overnight. We've got to address a lot of issues.''

So do the Charlotte Bobcats, who added one more loss to a historic season full of them. Michael Jordan's team had the best shot at the No. 1 pick after the worst season in NBA history, but instead fell to the No. 2 spot.

No such disappointment for the Hornets, whose good fortune comes after a difficult season in which they traded All-Star Chris Paul and a couple of years in limbo where they couldn't do much to upgrade the roster while the league was looking for a buyer.

''Just a first step for us to winning it all,'' Benson said in a TV interview after the lottery.

The Hornets moved up from the fourth spot, where they had a 13.7 percent chance, to earn the pick.

''Everything was surreal once they announced the fourth pick,'' Williams said. ''I said 'This is pretty cool.' I knew my wife and kids were home praying that things would go well and they did.''

The Bobcats had a 25 percent chance of grabbing the No. 1 pick after going 7-59, lowest winning percentage in NBA history. Instead they will have to take the best player after Davis, possibly his teammate, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Washington will pick third and Cleveland fell one spot to fourth.

The team with the worst record hasn't won since Orlando drafted Dwight Howard in 2004.

''We will still take the best player available and when you win seven games you have a lot of holes,'' Bobcats general manager Rich Cho said. ''From a competitive standpoint and for anyone who has played sports or been competitive, you want to win and be No. 1. We know we're still going to get a good player.''

Cho and team vice chairman Curtis Polk said shortly after the results they hadn't heard from Jordan, the Bobcats owner.

''Being No. 2 isn't terrible. We'll be fine,'' Polk said.

The league bought the Hornets from financially struggling owner George Shinn in December 2010 and the sale to Benson was completed in April. In between, the NBA was criticized for the conflict of interest of a league owning a franchise, particularly when Commissioner David Stern blocked a trade that would have sent Paul to the Lakers in December, then approved another that landed Paul with the Clippers.

The ownership uncertainty hindered the Hornets, but they were in a celebrating mood Wednesday after earning the No. 1 pick for the first time since 1991, when they were still in Charlotte and took Larry Johnson.

General manager Dell Demps said he pumped his fist in the room where the drawing took place after seeing that the balls had been drawn in the Hornets' favor.

''When our combination came up, it was an exciting feeling,'' he said. ''I got an incredible rush. ... We knew what the odds were. We hoped for the best. It was nothing we could control. We're just happy.''

The Hornets finished 21-45, winning eight of their final 13 games with a young roster. Williams and his players felt it would be wrong to do anything but try to win down the stretch, and they were rewarded.

''Obviously, we're very excited,'' Demps said. ''This is a great day for the city of New Orleans, our fans. ... This is the start of a new beginning.''

Though they didn't officially say it, it's expected to start with Davis. One of the most dominant defensive college players in years, he earned Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four even as he went 1 for 10 from the field in the championship game. He blocked a record-tying six shots and had 16 rebounds and three steals in the Wildcats' 67-59 victory over Kansas.

''Davis is not LeBron. He's not Tim (Duncan). But they were young once and Tim had four years of college,'' Williams said.

The Nets were the other big loser when they stayed in the No. 6 spot. They owed their pick to Portland for this season's Gerald Wallace trade unless they moved into the top three.

The Cavs beat the odds last year and moved up to take Kyrie Irving, the eventual Rookie of the Year, and tried to follow the same formula. Nick Gilbert, the 15-year-old son of owner Dan Gilbert, was back on the podium in his bow tie, and the Cavs' traveling party that included Dan Gilbert, and former Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar and current Browns players Josh Cribbs and Joe Haden sported the same dress.

But there was no repeat, as the Cavs went backward this time.

''Still feel very good about (number)4 pick,'' Dan Gilbert wrote on his Twitter page. ''We are getting a great player there and good additions w/our other 3 picks. I believe.''

Sacramento rounds out the top five of the draft, to be held June 28 in Newark, N.J.

The Golden State Warriors stayed at No. 7, meaning they get to keep their pick instead of having to trade it to Utah. The Trail Blazers also will have two lottery selections, the Nets' and their own at No. 11.

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AP Sports Writer Brett Martel in New Orleans contributed to this report.

The NBA Draft Lottery was conducted tonight at the at the Disney/ABC Times Square Studio, and with it the New Orleans Hornets, who had a 13.7 percent chance of obtaining the first selection, will have the first overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, which will be held in Newark, N.J. at the Prudential Center on Thursday, June 28, 2012.

Here’s the Lottery results

1. New Orleans

2. Charlotte

3. Washington

4. Cleveland

5. Sacramento

6. Brooklyn (To Portland)

7. Golden State

8. Toronto

9. Detroit

10. Minnesota (To New Orleans via LA Clippers)

11. Portland

12. Milwaukee

13. Phoenix

14. Houston

Following is the order for the remainder of the 2012 NBA Draft:

15. Philadelphia

16. New York (To Houston)

17. Dallas

18. Utah (To Minnesota)

19. Orlando

20. Denver

21. Boston

22. LA Clippers (To Boston via Oklahoma City)

23. Atlanta

24. LA Lakers (To Cleveland)

25. Memphis

26. Indiana

27. Miami

28. Oklahoma City

29. Chicago

30. San Antonio (To Golden State)

2012 SECOND ROUND DRAFT CHOICE ORDER

31. Charlotte

32. Washington

33. Cleveland

34. New Orleans (To Cleveland via Miami)

35. Brooklyn (To Golden State)

36. Sacramento

37. Toronto

38. Golden State (To Denver via New York)

39. Detroit

40. Minnesota (To Portland via Houston)

41. Portland

42. Milwaukee

43. Phoenix (To Atlanta)

44. Houston (To Detroit)

45. Philadelphia

46. Dallas (To Washington)

47. Utah

48. New York

49. Orlando

50. Denver

51. Boston

52. Atlanta (To Golden State)

53. LA Clippers

54. Memphis (To Philadelphia)

55. LA Lakers (To Dallas)

56. Indiana (To Toronto)

57. Miami (To Brooklyn)

58. Oklahoma City (To Minnesota)

59. San Antonio

60. Chicago (To Brooklyn via Milwaukee or to LA Lakers via Brooklyn and Milwaukee)

"Have you stopped beating your wife yet?" NBA Commissioner David Stern asked sports talk radio personality Jim Rome during a contentious interview on Rome's nationally syndicated radio program on Wednesday afternoon.

Stern's remark — the textbook example of a loaded question, intended to suggest that the subject has been asked a question he cannot answer without incriminating himself — came in response to a question asked by Rome about public perception that the NBA had rigged the 2012 NBA draft lottery to ensure that the New Orleans Hornets came away with the No. 1 overall selection, despite having fewer chances at the top prize than the Charlotte Bobcats, Washington Wizards and Cleveland Cavaliers heading into the proceedings.

The NBA has owned the Hornets since December 2010. The league recently sold the Hornets to New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson, who will reportedly pay $338 million to take control of the franchise. That sale is expected to be finalized this week, according to Stern; at present, the league still maintains control of the team.

Rome, a well-known radio host and former ESPN personality whose radio show is syndicated nationally by Premiere Networks and who hosts a daily television program on the CBS Sports Network, is married with two children, according to the bio on his website.

Deadspin's Timothy Burke has audio of the contentious segment of the interview; we've got a transcript after the jump.

During their chat on the afternoon after the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Rome asked Stern about the belief held by some — including, as Yahoo! Sports NBA columnist Adrian Wojnarowski reported immediately following the lottery, multiple NBA executives — that the league office put its thumb on the scales and rigged the lottery drawing in favor of a team still under its stewardship and that it just sold, as a favor to its new owner.

"You know, New Orleans won the draft lottery, which, of course, produced the usual round of speculation that maybe the lottery was fixed," Rome said. "I know that you appreciate a good conspiracy theory as much as the next guy — was the fix in for the lottery?"

Stern bristled.

"Uh, you know, I have two answers for that," Stern said. "I'll give you the easy one — no — and a statement: Shame on you for asking."

After emphasizing that his line of questioning intended no disrespect, Rome noted that he still thought the question valid, since many NBA fans and observers have openly questioned the validity and purity of the lottery. This time, Stern not only bristled — he swung.

"Have you stopped beating your wife yet?" Stern asked.

"Yeah, I don't know if that's fair," Rome responded. "I don't know that that's fair."



Now, there's an important point to be made here. Stern, it seems, wasn't actually asking if Rome had stopped beating his wife; he was evoking a famous logic game, a rhetorical move intended to put your opponent in an untenable position. Whether you say yes or no, you are saying that you have been beating your wife. You incriminate yourself just by participating in the exercise.

The point Stern appears to be trying to make is that, in order for him to answer Rome's question, he by necessity has to agree that the league has rigged lotteries in the past and does engage in the practice of outcome-fixing, whether or not it did in this case. It's a bit of lawyerspeak from the commissioner, a Columbia Law-educated solicitor by trade whose relationship to the league began when he was retained as outside counsel nearly 50 years ago.

Here's the thing: It's unnecessary bull[EXPLETIVE].

Setting aside the moral/ethical/sensitivity argument you might make — "Hey, we probably don't need to evoke domestic violence during a sports talk radio interview, especially when it's not one about, y'know, domestic violence" — this wasn't a loaded question. There most certainly was a way for Stern to answer Rome's question — which, again, was "Was the fix in for the lottery?" — without in any way implicating the league in any impropriety.

David Stern knows that there was a way for him to do it, BECAUSE HE DID IT:


"Uh, you know, I have two answers for that," Stern said. "I'll give you the easy one — no — and a statement: Shame on you for asking."


That's it. Move on.

When Rome follows up to say the question's fair, reiterate "No, and shame on you for asking." When Rome tries to stoke the embers by saying he's heard from literally 10 billion people that they hate the NBA because it's rigged and they would never watch it again, double-down on "No, and shame on you for asking." When Rome, whose entire job as a sports talk radio guy is to try to light up phone lines, tells you that there isn't a single person in any galaxy who doesn't think you're the clowniest clownfraud who ever clownfrauded a lotteryrodeo, whittle it down and just say, "No."

You do not have to implicate yourself or your employer. You do not have to, by tendering an answer, stoke the fire. (Which, frankly, will be stoked no matter what you do, but most definitely won't die down now.) Simply saying "No" wouldn't have had any negative associations. So that's what you say. That's what you always say.

You know why? Because you're a grown-ass man, and because the satisfaction of landing a quip on Jim Rome should be well past its expiration date by now. Because you're a 69-year-old adult whom (until recently) we'd matter-of-factly discussed as the clear sharpest chief executive in American sport. Because you're at the helm of a billion-dollar industry in the front of the American sports fan's mind right now, and the story that industry should have on the off-day between Games 1 and 2 of the NBA Finals damn sure isn't that you just allowed listeners across the country to think that you think a guy who racks hot takes hits his wife.

And yet: "Have you stopped beating your wife yet?" Well, aren't you clever.

Even given the apparently clear lack of malicious intent here — again, I can't stress this clearly enough, I believe Stern was referencing the loaded-question issue and not any impropriety on Rome's part — this is bad for Stern. This will only make it look more like his grip on the wheel's loosened and that he's not making the best decisions anymore. This is a distraction — and a weird one — at a time where focus should be entirely on the game. This is the kind of thing that he'll have to defuse, but I imagine he'll come off as something of a jerk in that process, too, since he doesn't seem to grasp that that's not the kind of thing you drop with no setup.

It's unnecessary, and it's negative, and it's a speed bump. The last thing you need immediately after the start of the most anticipated series in years. Take a bow, Commish. You've earned it.

So, here's that transcript.

--

"You know, New Orleans won the draft lottery, which, of course, produced the usual round of speculation that maybe the lottery was fixed," Rome said. "I know that you appreciate a good conspiracy theory as much as the next guy — was the fix in for the lottery?"

"Uh, you know, I have two answers for that," Stern said. "I'll give you the easy one — no — and a statement: Shame on you for asking."

"You know, I understand why you would say that to me, and I wanted to preface it by saying it respectfully," Rome replied. "I think it's my job to ask, because I think people wonder."

"No, it's ridiculous," Stern answered. "But that's OK."

"I know that you think it's ridiculous, but I don't think the question is ridiculous, because I know people think that," Rome said. "I'm not saying that I do, but I think it's my job to ask you that."

"Have you stopped beating your wife yet?" Stern asked.

"Yeah, I don't know if that's fair," Rome responded. "I don't know that that's fair."

"Well, why's that?" Stern asked.

"Because I think that there are — and I know you read your emails and I'm sure you follow things virally on Twitter — people really do think it, whether it's fair or not," Rome said. "You don't think the question's fair to ask if your fans think it?"

"People think it because people like you ask silly questions," Stern said. "I expect it to be written about — and actually, I commented last night in my presser that there was one guy who I won't dignify by naming who says, 'I have no reason to know anything, and I don't know anything, but I tell you, I believe it's fixed.' OK, that's good. Why is that? 'Well, because this team won.' And if that team won, it would've been fixed also, and if that team won, it would've been fixed also. And if every team was invited to have a representative there, and there were four members of the media there, and if Ernst and Young certified it, would you still think it? 'Yes.' So, I guess ..."

"I think two things, which responds to this," Rome interjected. "Number one, I don't think so. I don't think so — and I'm not covering myself — I don't think so, and I think by asking the question, it would not suggest I think so. But the one thing I would say: The league does own the team, does it not?"

"... Yes," Stern said, a question mark at the end of his sentence.

"Does that not make the question fair?" Rome asked.

"I don't think so," Stern said. "Number one, we sold it. We're gonna close this week. We already have established our price. I think that if it had gone to Michael Jordan, which was the next team up with, in terms of a high percentage, they would've said, 'Oh, David's taking care of his friend Michael.' And if it had gone to Brooklyn, which is going into Barclay Center, it would have been fair to speculate, I suppose, that we want to take Brooklyn off of the mat. So there was no winning. And people write about it, and it's OK to write about it, and we sort of expect it, but that's not a question that I've been asked before by a respectable journalist."

"I think I understand why you're frustrated by that; I think that I understand why that would upset you," Rome said. "I would hope that you would not hold that against me."

"I wouldn't hold it against you — you know, you and I have been into more contentious discussions than that," Stern said.

"I don't know, I'd put that one right up there," Rome replied.

"Well, you know, it's good copy, and you do things sometimes for cheap thrills," Stern said.

"I did not do that for a cheap thrill," Rome answered.

"Well, that's what it sounds like," Stern said.

"No, not at all," Rome answered. "See, that's where you and I — that's our point of disconnect. That was not a cheap thrill and I was not throwing anything against the wall, and I was trying to be as respectful as possible. I'm just saying that people wonder about that. And here's what I don't want to do — I don't want to say, 'Hey commissioner, people would say ...' Because I'm going to ask a direct question. But people do wonder. But that was not a cheap thrill. I got no thrill out of that."

"Well, it's a cheap trick," Stern said.

"No, flopping is a cheap trick," Rome said.

"Well, no. But listen, you've been successful at making a career out of it, and I keep coming on, so ..." Stern said.

"Making a career out of what, though, commissioner?" Rome interrupted. "See, I take great offense to that. Making a career of what? Cheap thrills?"

"What offense are you taking? You're taking offense?" Stern asked.

"I am. Now I am," Rome answered. "If you're saying I've made a career out of cheap thrills ..."

"... taking on the world, and now Jim Rome is pouting? I love it," Stern said.

"I'm not pouting; I take offense," Rome said. "There's a difference between pouting and taking offense. I take offense like you took offense to the question. What if I said — were you pouting when I asked the question?"

"What offenses? Do you want to hang up on me?" Stern asked.

"No, I can't hang up on you, because I'm running out of time — I would never hang up on you," Rome said.

"OK," Stern said. "Listen, I've got to go call somebody important, like Stephen A. Smith, right now. He's up next."

"All right, you go make that call, and I'll go talk to somebody else, too, I guess," Rome said.

"All right," Stern said.

"All right, commissioner. Have a nice day," Rome said. "I did not hang up on him — we are officially out of time. We will come back and reset that momentarily. Stay tuned."

beat wrote:Why doesn't the NBA open the entire process up for all to see?, Instead of just the end result.

Heck the average State Lottery is run wide open with their ping pong balls why couldn't this?