Tweet of the Day: Daryl Morey

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Every summer comes and goes and brings with it the joy of the NBA Playoffs as well as the intrigue of the offseason.

The first major event of the offseason is the NBA Draft, which will occur June 27th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. But, the Draft is not without its fair share of pomp and circumstance. Before the Draft ever occurs, representatives for each team in that failed to make the playoffs—or those with high potential draft picks acquired via trade from those who aren’t in the playoffs—must await the results of the NBA Draft Lottery.

Afterwards, potential draftees must undergo rigorous drills to test their individual skills and athleticism in the NBA Draft Combine. They also must endure many sit down interviews with NBA team general managers and coaches, who are looking to figure out their moral character and test their basketball acumen.

In recent years, the league has begun televising the combine to give its hardcore fans an inside look into the draft process and a look at the potential talent that they can expect to be called on draft day in late June. But rarely, if ever, do fans get a peek into the interview process…that is, until now.

Enter Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey.

Best draft interview answers ever part 1: player, can you pass a drug test? [grabs table] TODAY?!?
@dmorey
Daryl Morey
More best answers: "anyone who is projected ahead of U that U think U R better than?" ALL OF THEM "Have you ever seen them play?" NEVER
@dmorey
Daryl Morey
Best answers: "When did U know there might be an issue?" I was carrying [stolen item] 4someone else-knew something up when we got 2pawn shop
@dmorey
Daryl Morey
More best answers: "who is your agent?" I don't have an agent. "Who is advising you?" [gives name] "Who is that?" My agent.
@dmorey
Daryl Morey

Morey was kind enough to give fans an inside look into some of the more ridiculous answers that GMs in the league sometimes get when interviewing potential draftees. Some of them are funny and others, such as the guy who didn’t know that his agent was his agent, just make you shake your head in bewilderment.

Such is the life of an NBA general manager, asking questions and hoping for positive, intelligent answers.

Best of luck in this year’s draft.

 

Previous Tweet Posts:

Tweet of the Night: Kyle Lowry laughs at Tony Allen’s flop job

Tweet of the Day: This just in, Kevin Durant…Still nice.

Draft Lottery Probability Chart

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nbadraft13_300x250_3 (1)NEW YORK — You know why the dateline for the Draft Lottery says “New York” instead of “Secaucus, N.J.?”

Because they dynamited the old NBA Entertainment Studios where the lottery was held for more than a decade, so if they wanted to do the ping-pong ball thingee amid a pile of rubble.

So the Millennium Hotel in Times Square is the place where the fate of the 14-non-playoff teams will be decided, and the team that has the most to lose by winning is the Toronto Raptors.

When the Raptors acquired Kyle Lowry from the Houston Rockets, they surrendered a draft pick that is Top 3 protected this year, Top 2 protected in 2014 and Top 1 protected in 2015. So if the Raptors’ combination of ping-pong balls comes up tonight, they will keep their pick but will have a much higher likelihood of losing it next year when the 2014 draft will be the most loaded in over a decade.

That pick is now the property of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who acquired it in the James Harden trade. So if the 99-1 odds hold, it’ll be the Thunder selecting 12th. Who might they select? Check out our Mock Draft 2.0.1, which will be subbed out tonight by Mock Draft 3.0 after the festivities are complete.

Here are the mathematical chances each team has of winning the lottery:

 

TEAM                    1000                  PICK 1                PICK 2             PK 3

Orlando                      250                    25.00%             21.51%            17.77%

Charlotte                    199                    19.90%             18.81%             17.12%

Cleveland                   156                    15.60%             15.74%            15.59%

Phoenix                      119                    11.90%              12.60%            13.30%

New Orleans               88                      8.80%                 9.66%            10.68%

Sacramento                63                      6.30%                 7.10%              8.12%

Detroit                          43                      4.30%                 4.94%              5.79%

Washington                 28                      2.80%                3.26%              3.89%

Minnesota                   17                       1.70%                2.00%             2.41%

Portland                       11                       1.10%                 1.30%              1.58%

Philadelphia                 8                       0.80%                0.95%              1.15%

Toronto                         7                       0.70%                0.83%              1.01%

Dallas                              6                       0.60%                0.71%              0.87%

Utah                                5                       0.50%                0.59%              0.73%

SH blog: Thursday’s News: Conspiracy theories arise after draft lottery

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Today’s news around the league was dominated by the results of Wednesday night’s draft lottery. Some seem to believe in conspiracies, while others laugh at the notion. You can find all kinds of opinions about it below.

  • The New Orleans Hornets acquired the No. 1 lottery pick on Wednesday night, giving the franchise an opportunity to draft a franchise-level player in Anthony Davis, and perhaps draw up a new logo as well. The problem? Though they are in the process of selling the team to Tom Benson, David Stern and the league still own the team. For that reason, as Adrian Wojnarowski reports, many that actually work within the NBA believes foul play was involved: 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.
  • The executives privately had their say about the results of the draft lottery, and they were not the only people within the league to openly question what happened. Through twitter, here are some thoughts of a number of NBA players themselves, from IamaGM. Richard Hamilton of the Chicago Bulls had this to say: Who thinks the lottery was rigged?
  • As our editor-in-chief would tell you, however, NBA commissioner David Stern would be committing a felony if he rigged the lottery, and the guy does not want to be using soap on a rope for 15-to-20 years. OK?
  • And finally, Zach Lowe of SI.com may have broken things down the best to debunk all the conspiracy theories. RealGM also took a poll asking if the NBA could clear its image if they simply televised the actual draft lottery. See the results here.
  • Anthony Davis, though sure to become a player for the Hornets soon enough, is not even in the league yet. Still, it didn’t stop him from talking about shutting down one Kobe Bryant in the near future, writes Mark Medina of Los Angeles Times: “[Kobe]’s a monster. So I just want to go out there and play my hardest,” Davis said Thursday on the”Dan Patrick Show.” There’s a lot of guys that can’t stop Kobe. So if I stop him I could be one of the guys that say, ‘I shut Kobe down’.” ”Be careful what you ask for Anthony,” Patrick told the former Kentucky standout. “He listens to the show and he has a great memory.” Retorted Anthony: “Tell him, I’ll be waiting.”
  • Chesapeake Energy Arena is set for tonight’s contest between the Thunder and the Spurs. You do have to wonder, though, if the Thunder are resigned to the fact that they don’t have much of a chance in this series, at least this season against this Spurs team. Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman, perhaps feeling what Al Jefferson felt in the first round of the playoffs, certainly sounded mentally defeated in this piece: Nobody in OKC wants to hear it, but it’s not the Thunder’s time. That seems clear not just because of what happened in San Antonio the last few days, but what’s happened in San Antonio the last few weeks. Popovich has produced an epic team. The Spurs have won 20 straight games, the fourth-longest win streak in NBA history, and he’s done it with adults.
  • Remember Brandon Roy? The once-dominant shooting guard of the Portland Trailblazers  is rumored to be making a comeback as soon as next season despite retiring due to a degenerative knee condition, according to Chris Palmer of ESPN: Someone who could help the Lakers: Brandon Roy. Based on what I’m told he could be back in the league next year.
  • The Brooklyn Nets hoped for the best in the lottery, but their worst nightmare came to fruition once their pick was determined. Michael Scotto detailed the situation for ReamGM: Just before the NBA Draft Lottery results were unveiled, ESPN’s Heather Cox asked Nets representative Irina Pavlova what the move to Brooklyn meant for the franchise.“It will be a true renaissance,” said Pavlova. That was before the Nets worst nightmare became a reality as NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver unveiled the team had drawn the No. 6 overall pick.
  • If you missed Rajon Rondo’s epic performance in Game 2, you can relive it through this video:

 

For yesterday’s blog, click here.

For Tuesday’s blog, click here.

James Park is a regular contributor and blogger for SheridanHoops.com. You can find him on twitter @nbatupark.