Originally Posted by
hmands
But everything for NO to get pick #1 was set in motion before the new ownership group stepped in. Plus, the draft cannot be fixed? This accusation was made many years ago when the Knicks drafted Patrick Ewing. The accusation was one of the envelopes was frozen on purpose to get Ewing to fall to the Knicks. You also have to understand the draft order is set inside a private quarters. Where players, coaches, nor viewers can see what is happening. Now is the NBA rank with corruption ala the Sicilian Mafia sort of overtones? Probably not. But there definitely is a concerted effort by the refs in certain situations to make sure things "fall" a certain way. And to do this, you need to keep criticism of referees and refereeing to a minimum. Hence the implementing of the "fine for complaining" rule.