Odds & Ends: Stern, Lottery, Seattle

In what is expected to be his final press conference as commissioner, David Stern defended the NBA’s draft lottery and dismissed speculation that teams may tank games to earn a better chance at a top pick.  However, he conceded that the system may need some adjustments, writes Mark Woods of ESPNNewYork.com.  “We made it a bit more slanted to the worst teams, and I think it’s maybe time to look at the lottery and maybe tinker a little more,” he said. “But we’ll see what Commissioner [Adam] Silver wants to do on that.”  More from around the Association..

  • Silver also confirmed that he would be naming a new deputy commissioner within weeks, Woods writes.
  • “Under the right circumstances,” Silver said that he would love to see an NBA team back in Seattle, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports.
  • The NBA expects more foreign investors to buy into teams, writes Keith Weir of Reuters.  Wealthy groups in China, the Middle East and Latin America have all been mentioned as potential investors in NBA franchises.  “We encourage that movement of capital and we think it is inevitable,” Stern said, reflecting on the example set by Mikhail Prokhorov‘s purchase of Nets in 2010.  “In addition we also have an operating structure with a salary cap that very much blunts the impact of pure dollars or pounds or rubles,” he added.
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