When looking at a draft for any professional sports league, one expects to find hope for the future, whether the change is immediate or occurs over time. However, one particularly unique event that happens before the draft for the NBA is that any team that has a losing record can have the opportunity to move up to have a Top 3 draft pick. However, the chances of a team from as high as #14 (or any double-digit seeded team for that matter) to actually land in that area, let alone win the #1 pick is so low that it almost doesn't seem worthwhile to show up at the event in the first place. To me, that was a reason why I didn't show much care for the lottery for so long; either my team wasn't in a position to get a top 3 (most of the time, at least), or when it did happen, it was in a place where the odds weren't stacked in my team's favor in the first place. Yet, this year felt... different. In fact, it was so different that it almost felt unreal with how different it was.
Usually before the draft lottery comes up, there would be a player that would be the stand-out guy that, regardless of set position, would be the guy that any losing would be clamoring to have on their team. Last year had PF/C Anthony Davis as that guy due to his ability to change games without scoring so much through his defense, and the year before had PG Kyrie Irving despite only playing 11 games for Duke due to his NCAA Tournament run. However, this year had no one that really stood out from the rest of the crowd. The closest two that really stood out from the crowd were (PF/)C Nerlens Noel and SG Ben McLemore, and both players hold pretty big issues that would not be present for a normal #1 pick. Ben McLemore started out strong enough to the point where he ended up going from second-round considerations to a possibility at pick #1, but when it came to stepping up during the NCAA Tournament... he tended to be more passive on his opportunities than aggressive. Meanwhile, Nerlens Noel was projected to be similar to that of Anthony Davis (and even held similarities to Davis), yet because of a terrible leg injury that he had, he could not try and cement himself as a top selection during the rest of his season. Even worse, because of the injury, he went from a thin 228 pounds to a very slender (for a 6'11" player, at least) 206 pounds, which raised more red flags then stopped them.
Admittedly, I did not really hold much interest in the draft lottery in the past either because my favorite team would make it to the playoffs (whether it was easily done or not) or when they did make it, they usually would get stuck in a position that would not result in them moving up. Yet, even though this was kind of what I wanted to see happen for the team to improve on their future, I didn't really want them to win the #1 draft pick! In fact, at the projected slot of pick #4, I would have been quite content just staying there and let Cleveland, Orlando, and Charlotte duke it out for what was supposed to be the glorious #1 pick. You know why? Because even if the person that's selected does turn out to be good, he likely won't make an immediate impact on the team in the first place, especially if the team selects injured center Nerlens Noel. Personally, as long as the Phoenix Suns didn't get the #1 pick and was closer to picks 2-4, I would have been okay with the results at hand. However, the draft didn't exactly come out as planned for the Suns.
When the lottery finally did come, it brought out the predictable in letting everyone that was in the top third of the losing charts stay there. However, while last year did not hold any major upsets, this year had the Washington Wizards (who was projected to be pick number 8 this year) ended up jumping into the top 3, which ended up putting a belief of fear that would make them wonder if a team above them would jump over them or not. Unfortunately for the Suns, they weren't one of the other teams that would get jumped ahead. In fact, the only team that actually had it worse in their luck than us was the Charlotte Bobcats, and they had the second-worst record in the NBA! Yet here they stood as the 4th team that would pick in this draft; ahead of us by one, but down on their luck twice. You know who jumped ahead of Charlotte? The Cleveland Cavaliers.
If there was one team that the Phoenix Suns probably hold contempt over for this year, it's the Cleveland Cavaliers. Oh sure, Phoenix did manage to win against them twice (with one victory coming after a 26 point deficit), but the Suns only had the (mis)fortune to have them in the beginning of their season when hope was still there for them, instead of later on when the Suns probably would have needed it. Not only did they end up getting the L.A. Lakers' draft pick that clearly should have gone to Phoenix due to how the Lakers ended up performing during that season, but they also ended up being the team that ended up winning the #1 spot when Phoenix was only behind them by one game. Now did this really sting? For the L.A. Lakers pick, yeah, but the feeling at hand does leave afterwards. After all, the lottery really is a position of chance, and you can't really blame chance for giving out the most likeliest of odds.
So what does this mean now? For starters, while Cleveland does have the choice that ultimately reflects where this year's NBA Draft goes, they hold more criticism and pressure on the guy Cleveland does draft, whether it's Nerlens Noel or someone else. After that, there's still the idea that many teams that are either at the top or the bottom of the lottery might want to trade either up, down, or out altogether depending on what the teams are trading for. For the Phoenix Suns, they're in an interesting little spot in that they could stay where they are and find out if teams are going to be drafting players as predicted or if something odd is going on that could help or hinder the team in the process. They could also be one of those teams in the draft that move up, but the odds of them doing so are slim, but not impossible! With that said, expect the Phoenix Suns to add onto their draft picks of 5, 30, and60 57 since there has been rumors that teams like the Portland Trail Blazers, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and even the Dallas Mavericks want to trade their own (top) pick in the first round for a means to help their team out immediately, which should be plans that they need to pounce on. Until the draft officially does come for the NBA, I will certainly keep my eyes out for what happens along the way!
Usually before the draft lottery comes up, there would be a player that would be the stand-out guy that, regardless of set position, would be the guy that any losing would be clamoring to have on their team. Last year had PF/C Anthony Davis as that guy due to his ability to change games without scoring so much through his defense, and the year before had PG Kyrie Irving despite only playing 11 games for Duke due to his NCAA Tournament run. However, this year had no one that really stood out from the rest of the crowd. The closest two that really stood out from the crowd were (PF/)C Nerlens Noel and SG Ben McLemore, and both players hold pretty big issues that would not be present for a normal #1 pick. Ben McLemore started out strong enough to the point where he ended up going from second-round considerations to a possibility at pick #1, but when it came to stepping up during the NCAA Tournament... he tended to be more passive on his opportunities than aggressive. Meanwhile, Nerlens Noel was projected to be similar to that of Anthony Davis (and even held similarities to Davis), yet because of a terrible leg injury that he had, he could not try and cement himself as a top selection during the rest of his season. Even worse, because of the injury, he went from a thin 228 pounds to a very slender (for a 6'11" player, at least) 206 pounds, which raised more red flags then stopped them.
Admittedly, I did not really hold much interest in the draft lottery in the past either because my favorite team would make it to the playoffs (whether it was easily done or not) or when they did make it, they usually would get stuck in a position that would not result in them moving up. Yet, even though this was kind of what I wanted to see happen for the team to improve on their future, I didn't really want them to win the #1 draft pick! In fact, at the projected slot of pick #4, I would have been quite content just staying there and let Cleveland, Orlando, and Charlotte duke it out for what was supposed to be the glorious #1 pick. You know why? Because even if the person that's selected does turn out to be good, he likely won't make an immediate impact on the team in the first place, especially if the team selects injured center Nerlens Noel. Personally, as long as the Phoenix Suns didn't get the #1 pick and was closer to picks 2-4, I would have been okay with the results at hand. However, the draft didn't exactly come out as planned for the Suns.
When the lottery finally did come, it brought out the predictable in letting everyone that was in the top third of the losing charts stay there. However, while last year did not hold any major upsets, this year had the Washington Wizards (who was projected to be pick number 8 this year) ended up jumping into the top 3, which ended up putting a belief of fear that would make them wonder if a team above them would jump over them or not. Unfortunately for the Suns, they weren't one of the other teams that would get jumped ahead. In fact, the only team that actually had it worse in their luck than us was the Charlotte Bobcats, and they had the second-worst record in the NBA! Yet here they stood as the 4th team that would pick in this draft; ahead of us by one, but down on their luck twice. You know who jumped ahead of Charlotte? The Cleveland Cavaliers.
If there was one team that the Phoenix Suns probably hold contempt over for this year, it's the Cleveland Cavaliers. Oh sure, Phoenix did manage to win against them twice (with one victory coming after a 26 point deficit), but the Suns only had the (mis)fortune to have them in the beginning of their season when hope was still there for them, instead of later on when the Suns probably would have needed it. Not only did they end up getting the L.A. Lakers' draft pick that clearly should have gone to Phoenix due to how the Lakers ended up performing during that season, but they also ended up being the team that ended up winning the #1 spot when Phoenix was only behind them by one game. Now did this really sting? For the L.A. Lakers pick, yeah, but the feeling at hand does leave afterwards. After all, the lottery really is a position of chance, and you can't really blame chance for giving out the most likeliest of odds.
So what does this mean now? For starters, while Cleveland does have the choice that ultimately reflects where this year's NBA Draft goes, they hold more criticism and pressure on the guy Cleveland does draft, whether it's Nerlens Noel or someone else. After that, there's still the idea that many teams that are either at the top or the bottom of the lottery might want to trade either up, down, or out altogether depending on what the teams are trading for. For the Phoenix Suns, they're in an interesting little spot in that they could stay where they are and find out if teams are going to be drafting players as predicted or if something odd is going on that could help or hinder the team in the process. They could also be one of those teams in the draft that move up, but the odds of them doing so are slim, but not impossible! With that said, expect the Phoenix Suns to add onto their draft picks of 5, 30, and