1 conspiracy theory for why every team will win the NBA Draft Lottery
Your in-built excuses for the draft lottery tonight.
The NBA Draft Lottery is on Monday night with Cooper Flagg being the biggest prize since, well ... okay, Victor Wembanyama two years ago — but still, Flagg is a big deal.
Flagg might be the best U.S.-born prospect since LeBron James, garnering comparisons to Scottie Pippen, Jayson Tatum, and Grant Hill in terms of his length and all-around playing ability. So with stakes like this on the line it’s only natural to assume that the entire lottery process is going to be rigged in order to ensure only a team the NBA wants to have Flagg will actually get him.
Read our latest mock draft before the lottery here. We also ranked the best and worst landing spots for Flagg. Thankfully we’re in luck, because there are solid conspiracies behind every single lottery team that could win on Monday night. So to save your Twitter fingers some time, we’ve got all your theories right here for you.
The NBA needs to dispel it’s “big market bias” narrative, and putting Flagg in Utah achieves just that. Also it coincides nicely with the owners of the Jazz (and now the Utah Mammoth) expanding their arena to make Salt Lake City a bigger sports destination. Like putting Wemby on the Spurs, Flagg on the Jazz achieves similar goals.
The Wizards have been lagging woefully behind in attendance for a large market and Flagg can change that. It’s a great sports narrative to have the Wizards and Commanders rising from the ashes at the same time, and the NBA needs to jump on that hype bandwagon.
Charlotte Hornets
Adam Silver met with the owners of the Hornets close to the end of the regular season to hear about their arena expansion plans. The NBA has always had a soft spot for the Charlotte market, putting the NBA All-Star game in the city in 2019 and loving the link between the team and J. Cole. Flagg could be the missing piece to make this team actually good, and Charlotte has been robbed of the No. 1 pick multiple times in the past.
New Orleans Pelicans
Two big reasons here: The Saints are going to be in the toilet after Derek Carr stunningly retired, and this could easily be pre-payment on a deal to send Zion Williamson to a major market. We’ve seen this in the past. Remember when New Orleans was gifted Anthony Davis right after the Chris Paul trade?
The phrase “too big to fail” applies here. Of course the NBA is going to find a way to route Flagg to Philly and make the Sixers a phenom again. The whole Paul George fiasco blew up in their faces, and it’s unclear if Joel Embiid can stay healthy. This is a contingency plan so the team can build a future big three around Jared McCain, Tyrese Maxey and Cooper Flagg if needed.
It is not okay to have a team be in the world’s largest media market and struggle as much as the Nets do — especially when the Knicks have finally found their form. The NBA needs a Knicks-Nets rivalry to be a thing, and in order to achieve that Brooklyn needs a star. Is there anything more perfectly Brooklyn that a lanky basketball star from Maine? The hipsters are going to love him.
It’s a dicey time in world politics and the NBA needs to currie as much favor with the Canadian government as possible. This franchise was built off Vince Carter coming up from North Carolina, now we do it again with Flagg heading North from Duke.
This is too obvious. Flagg and Wemby is a marketing dream. The new Big Two in Texas. A Gen Z Duncan and Robinson. The opportunities write themselves.
This is a great opportunity to take the already good Rockets and push them into the stratosphere (forgive the pun). It would also take a lot of attention off the Mavericks so they can make a more quiet move to Las Vegas.
Sending Damian Lillard to the Bucks did the NBA a major solid, even if it didn’t work out. This is a payment on that trade, and gives Portland a major star to build around.
This is obvious. Nico Harrison gifted Luka Doncic to the Lakers, so the NBA gifts Cooper Flagg to the Mavs.
Chicago Bulls
A huge market team on the cusp of winning. Also a chance to make significant inroads with the Catholic market by making Pope Leo XIV happy that his team has a star.
It’s time to strike while the iron is hot for the NBA. The Falcons and Braves are down bad, so by boosting the Hawks to the moon they can help claim the largest market in the Southeast. It’s all about building the brand and making the Hawks a hot commodity.