Hoops Rumors Polls

Last week, we asked Hoops Rumors readers to weigh in on who they think will be the Rookie of the Year out of the 2013 Draft.  Victor Oladipo of the Magic was the leading votegetter with over 26% of the vote while Kelly Olynyk of the Celtics finished second with about 16%.  Interestingly, No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett got about 7% of the vote, putting him behind the likes of Trey Burke, Cody Zeller, and the ever popular "someone else".  

There are definitely some intriguing prospects coming out of this June's draft, but let's face it, the 2013 class has nothing on the 2014 class and it might even be one of the weaker drafts of the last decade, if you believe what some scouts had to say.  It's time to look at the glass half empty and decide who will be the biggest bust out of the top ten picks.  Remember: disappointment is relative to the expectation level.  What might be a decent career for someone later in the draft could be viewed as abject failure for someone at the top.  Happy voting! 

Gary Bedore of KUSports.com published a story over the weekend in which he spoke to former Jayhawk Ben McLemore about his goals for the 2013/14 season, and McLemore's desire to prove that the six teams who passed on him on draft night made a mistake.

"I feel I come in with a chip on my shoulder," McLemore said. "I feel I am going to work hard to get Rookie of the Year. I know the mindset I’m going to come in and show everybody I could be the alpha dog and win that Rookie of the Year. I’m definitely going to work hard to get that."

The 2013 draft didn't feature a consensus first overall pick, and the player considered by many to be the best prospect in the class (Nerlens Noel) is still recovering from an ACL injury. As such, the field is wide open for McLemore or anyone else to earn those Rookie of the Year honors.

With Noel likely to miss the start of the season, and a few rookies unlikely to play significant roles right away for their respective teams, not all of this year's lottery picks are in position to compete for the award. But from the No. 1 pick (Anthony Bennett) on down, there are plenty of candidates. Who's your choice to become the 2013/14 Rookie of the Year?

In light of NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver's recent comments to the New York Post regarding PED use and future testing throughout the league (the NBA is unable to enhance its testing system until the Player's Association appoints a new executive director and president), do you think basketball has a problem?

In an Odds & Ends post yesterday, we passed along a piece written by Steve Kerr for NBA.com, in which the former Suns general manager and current TV analyst presented a few ideas for the NBA might alter its draft lottery.

The discussion isn't a new one, but it has ramped up again recently as teams like the Sixers and Jazz have chosen to position themselves for a high lottery pick in 2014 rather than attempting to contend for the postseason. Given how strong the 2014 draft class, led by Andrew Wiggins, is expected to be, it makes sense for teams who don't view themselves as legit contenders to position themselves to lose a lot of games, based on how the NBA's current lottery system works.

There doesn't seem to be a single potential solution that everyone can agree on, but some of Kerr's ideas are intriguing. Among them:

1. Even out the lottery odds, so that each of the league's 14 non-playoff teams has a 1-in-14 shot at getting each draft slot from one to 14. In this scenario, Kerr says, the top five picks would be up for grabs, so the league's worst team would pick no lower than sixth.
2. Reward the Nos. 7 and 8 playoff teams more. Kerr suggests that if there were more incentives to simply earn a postseason spot, even if it meant a quick first-round exit (think the No. 8 Bucks against the Heat this year), teams could make a greater effort to contend. He proposes that the eight teams who are eliminated in the first round of the playoffs could be given the top eight picks of the second round of the draft (Nos. 31-38).
3. Regulation to alter lottery odds. In this scenario, the teams with the NBA's three worst records would be ineligible for a top-three pick, with the other lottery teams having a 1-in-11 chance. As such, there would at least be incentive to avoid being one of the league's absolute bottom-feeders.
4. Deeper weighted lottery odds, meaning that the odds are determined in part (or entirely) by lottery teams' winning percentages against one another — the better you played against other lottery clubs, the better chance you have to land a top pick.
5. Rotate the draft order annually, so that for every 30-year stretch, each of the league's teams picks once in every spot between No. 1 and No. 30. Although Kerr doesn't specify a pattern, I have to assume it would be randomized, so that a team could pick, for instance, 16th one year, 27th the next, and first the year after that. That would make more sense for competitive balance than having a team pick first one year, second the next, third after that, and so on.

What do you think? Do you like any of Kerr's suggestions, or do you think the lottery system is about as fair as possible the way it is? If you have your own ideas for changes the NBA should try, feel free to share them in the comments section.