Valley of the Suns
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That’s it. The Lottery is Fixed.

By Adam Maynes

May 17, 2016; New York, NY, USA; ESPN broadcasters Mark Jones (left) and Jay Bilas fist bump before going live during the NBA draft lottery at New York Hilton Midtown. The Philadelphia 76ers received the first overall pick in the 2016 draft. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
May 17, 2016; New York, NY, USA; ESPN broadcasters Mark Jones (left) and Jay Bilas fist bump before going live during the NBA draft lottery at New York Hilton Midtown. The Philadelphia 76ers received the first overall pick in the 2016 draft. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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If you haven’t heard yet, today Los Angeles Lakers Head Coach Luke Walton said in an interview that Magic Johnson has assured him that the Lakers would not be dropping out of the top-3 in the Lottery on May 16.

Don’t believe me? Here’s the video: (The moment is at 5:30 in the video, and there is audio issues with the two hosts, although Luke is loud and clear).

Now, no serious Suns fan would take this 100% at face value and say that the comment wasn’t a little tongue and cheek. Yes, I believe that he and Magic Johnson have had a conversation. Yes, I believe that Magic told Luke that the Lakers will keep their pick this season. And yes, even though Luke’s comment was said with a straight face, it did appear that it was probably a little flippant based on his chuckle when he heard Lisa Lesley laugh (although that could very well have been a guilty laugh as well).

But regardless, I believe that he believes that the Lakers are keeping that pick, and I believe that Magic has spoken with people in the league office (whether Commissioner Adam Silver or someone below – who knows) about the pick based to discuss the Lakers situation. The league probably very much wants the Lakers organization to be a successful one again and everyone knows that receiving a top-3 pick will be very helpful in them returning to that level.

This leads to the crux of this issue: silly comments like this continue to reaffirm what many fans of the NBA (and of the Suns in particular) believe already – the NBA Draft Lottery is fixed to help the teams that the league wants to win.

Lest I go through the entire history of the draft, we all have at least one, if not multiple, lottery’s in our minds that we believe were fixed to help set up a league-favorite narrative. From Patrick Ewing to New York in 1985 to the more recent Cleveland Cavaliers constant winning as a means of helping re-lure LeBron back to Ohio, there are plenty of instances that NBA fans can very suspiciously look upon as acts of league-inspired cheating.

Needless to say, if the Lakers finish ahead of the Suns in the Lottery (and especially  if the Suns slip back to either 4th or 5th and miss out on the top-3 best possible players at the top of most mock drafts) then Suns fans everywhere will believe evermore that the league has fixed the draft and that the Suns were once again screwed as a result.

Now, if the Lakers stay at 3 and the Suns do not slip behind them, whether they remain at 2 or move up to 1, then there really isn’t a whole lot to complain about since for the second straight year the Lottery basically just played to form. Even if the Suns don’t slip back beyond 3 but the Lakers jump ahead of them and either win it or finish 2nd, then even that would be a huge pill to swallow.

However, if the Lakers finish ahead of Phoenix, regardless of where they pick one through three, and then the Suns slip out of the top-3 and into 4th or even God forbid 5th, then I believe that all hell will break loose in the Valley of the Suns.

More from Valley of the Suns

As of tonight the lottery is now less than 13 days away. Any little thing that people from another team, or media members who have no vested interest in the success of the Phoenix Suns, say will set Suns fans off. Comments like these will long be forgotten if the Suns win the lottery and/or the Lakers slip out of the top-3 and lose their picks. On the other hand, stuff like this will only further embolden conspiracy theorists as the narrative of favoritism will be allowed to continue to live on.

On lottery night there will be a lot of hearts pounding and sweaty palms in Phoenix the moment NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum holds up the envelope for the 5th overall pick and begins the sentence with “pick number five goes too…”

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