MSG Networks Inc. shares climbed 2.1%, outperforming the broader market’s rebound, as investors look ahead to the NBA draft lottery Tuesday evening, where the future of the New York Knicks may be at stake. The stock has fallen 5% this year and investors hope that the Knicks landing the top pick in the draft will turn performance around for the company, which owns broadcasting rights to the team.
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BTIG analyst Brandon Ross wrote on Monday that trades and player moves this summer could have a “significant impact” on the Knicks as well as Madison Square Garden Co. and MSG Networks. “The situation is much more pressing for MSG Networks, which is fighting strong industry headwinds with a weak product carrying a high price tag,” Ross said in a note to clients. “If the Knicks can transform into a winner, ratings should follow, and MSGN’s affiliate negotiations should become easier and advertising revenue could increase substantially.”
Bobby Marks: New York will not only have an eye toward securing a top 3 pick but also what happens with Dallas. If the Mavericks are not in the top 5, New York will receive a 2021 unprotected and 2023 (top 10 protected) first. Both picks are a result of the Kristaps Porzingis trade.
See, the lottery’s format back then was different than it is today. There were 11 non-playoff teams in ‘93. And the rules didn’t derive from any complicated algorithms, handing the three organizations with the league’s worst records 14 percent odds each, then slightly worse percentages down the line, as they do today. “(Today’s system) is impossible to explain to anybody but an MIT mathematician,” Williams joked. “I have sat in the back room now for four or five years. And I see it unfold and have no idea what’s going on.”
Williams likes to think former NBA commissioner David Stern changed the rules in his mind before he’d even shook hands with the Magic exec after winning a second consecutive season. “I had to bite my lip after we won because nobody in that room was happy for us. Nobody,” Williams remembered. “You watch the video; you’ll see shock but no dancing. I tiptoed up to the stage, but David Stern was not happy to see me. He was not happy. (He was) like, ‘How did this happen to my lottery? This is not why we put it in there.’”
Knicks GM Scott Perry says the team is prepared for any and all possibilities heading into the NBA Draft Lottery on Tuesday night. "Whatever is in the cards for us (Tuesday), we'll be more than able and willing to handle that and execute the draft position that we have," Perry said Monday in an interview on ESPN Radio's Golic & Wingo Show.
The Knicks, Cavaliers and Phoenix Suns each have a 14 percent chance of landing the top pick on Tuesday night. All three clubs also have a 40 percent chance of landing a top-three pick and a 52 percent chance of landing a top-four pick. The Knicks will pick no lower than fifth since they finished with the league's worst record (17-65). Perry on Monday said, no matter where the Knicks land, their meetings with individual draft prospects will play a key role in whom they decide to select.
"So much of it will get down to when we get a chance to meet these young players and really get a feel for their personalities," Perry said on Monday. "Because we've been able to evaluate their talent from afar on the floor, we've been able to talk to a number of sources about them, but now, that final touch really comes down to your personal interaction with each of these players."
Darren Wolfson: While Gersson Rosas will represent the #Twolves on TV tomorrow night for the Lottery, it'll be VP of communications Brad Ruiter in the room when the actual drawing takes place. He's 1-for-2, you could say, having been in the room when the No. 1 pick (KAT) combination came up.
What separates Cynthia Marshall from others who have represented the Mavericks in 14 previous lotteries is her gusto and conviction for the occasion. "Yes," she told The News when asked if she is aware of the franchise's bleak history of rotten lottery outcomes. "That's changing."
If Dallas draws one of this year's top four picks, next year's No. 1 pick would be conveyed to Atlanta. "I said, 'That's the whole story of my life, beating the odds, are you kidding me? I'm not worried about that,'" Marshall said, recalling her conversation with the NBA official. "If your Lord says it is time for us to have that No. 1 pick, then it's time for us to have the No. 1 pick."
Question: How nervous are you for the teams, and do you sense the drama in that room? Kiki VanDeWeghe: Absolutely. The interesting thing is everybody is in the same spot. It’s an interesting dynamic. The other teams are competitors with each other. But they are all in this room sequestered together — all really nervous and excited at the same time. It’s an interesting atmosphere. It’s very cordial because everyone is in this together. The cell phones are put away, there’s no way to communicate with anybody. We’re a group amongst ourselves. We know a little bit ahead of everyone else what the results are.
Q: What is it like knowing the blockbuster news before the rest of the world? Kiki VanDeWeghe: The minutes are really long. I can tell you that. Once you find out what the results are — it’s so important to what it means to a franchise — that they’re dying for everyone else to know. In some respects, the teams want to make sure, hey, we didn’t get the top pick, we did get the top pick. All those things you’re dying to communicate. It’s a very long half-hour.
Q: Does the Zion Williamson prize make it bigger? Kiki VanDeWeghe: I think it’s dramatic every year. From my position, I don’t want to comment on an individual player as you know. What can I say is, it’s an exciting time. We have some of the great playoffs series of the second round and now add on top of it the lottery and combine. This is sort of the entry point layered on top of the most exciting part of our season. I love this time of year. I can’t wait to see what happens.
Q: How do you feel the lottery reform worked in changing the odds for the worst three teams? Vandeweghe: If you look at us over the years, ever since the lottery was instituted, we’ve adjusted them five times. The idea of having the three teams with the least wins, they have 14 percent [chance of winning the first pick] — the odds smoothing out a bit. I think it is good. It’s a fair way to do it. Is it perfect? There probably is no perfect [way]. It’s a work in progress. That’s one of the great things working here we‘re always trying to improve things. That comes from the top with Adam [Silver, NBA commissioner]. Always trying to innovate and make sure, even though this is a fantastic year and the playoffs are great and we’re seeing some of the best talent we’ve ever had on the basketball court. How can we make it better?
Ex-Knick Kiki VanDeWeghe is the NBA’s executive VP who is in his sixth season moderating the behind-the-scenes actual ping-pong-ball lottery drawing and has an interesting viewpoint of how the NBA draft lottery works. He gives his thought about the process, the anticipation and the changes ahead of the drawing Tuesday to determine the order for the June 20 draft — when Duke star Zion Williamson is expected to be the No. 1 pick. Question: How nervous are you for the teams, and do you sense the drama in that room? Vandeweghe: Absolutely. The interesting thing is everybody is in the same spot. It’s an interesting dynamic. The other teams are competitors with each other. But they are all in this room sequestered together — all really nervous and excited at the same time. It’s an interesting atmosphere. It’s very cordial because everyone is in this together. The cell phones are put away, there’s no way to communicate with anybody. We’re a group amongst ourselves. We know a little bit ahead of everyone else what the results are.
Duane Rankin: 8-year-old Gabriel Olvera is about to get the surprise of his life. Meeting Deandre Ayton. Getting a jersey. Shooting hoops with the 7-footer. Being invited to next week's #NBA Draft lottery.
Keith Pompey: Here are the team representatives who will be on stage and in the drawing room for the 2019 NBA Draft Lottery on Tuesday in Chicago. The #Sixers, yes the Sixers, will have representatives at the lottery. That’s because they’ll get the first pick if the Kings win the lottery. pic.twitter.com/iCi2tJTkBV
Mike Trudell: The Lakers are sending @Kyle Kuzma to Chicago to represent the squad for the NBA Draft Lottery on Tuesday, May 14. LAL (37-45 in 2018-19) have the 11th-best odds, giving them a 9.4% chance at a top 4 pick, and a 2.0% long shot at No. 1.
One of the biggest nights in Knicks’ franchise history will have a different look to it on ESPN. The network is throwing more resources at the NBA draft lottery on May 14, a night that will be centered on who will get the No. 1 pick and the ability to draft Duke star Zion Williamson.
Rachel Nichols will host “The Jump” at 8 p.m., which will serve as a half-hour pregame show and will feature an interview with NBA commissioner Adam Silver. The lottery itself will start at 8:30, and the order should start being announced around 10 minutes into that program. There also will be an “NBA Countdown” show at 7 p.m. with host Michelle Beadle and analysts Jalen Rose, Paul Pierce and Chauncey Billups.
After two years of Mavs front-office assistant Michael Finley representing the Mavs in the Lottery, this year it's going to be CEO Cynthia Marshall who gets the honor of representing the team this year, owner Mark Cuban tells DBcom.
According to team president Steve Mills, Dolan gave him a random phone call a few weeks ago that could turn Ewing into the good-luck charm that brings Zion Williamson to New York City. “Actually Jim Dolan called me up and asked, ‘Who’s attending the lottery?’ ” Mills told The Post. “I said Scott [Perry, general manager], and I haven’t talked about it that much. He said, ‘I’m just making a suggestion. You can say no if you want to. But what about Patrick?’ “I said, ‘I think that’s a good idea.’ ”
Thirty-four years since New York Knicks great Dave DeBusschere pumped his fist on a podium after landing the No. 1 pick to select future Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing, Ewing will now represent the franchise at the NBA draft lottery next month for a chance to draft Duke phenom Zion Williamson, league sources told ESPN.
Michael Gallagher: Final lottery positions: 1. Knicks 2. Cavs 3. Suns 4. Bulls 5. Hawks 6. Wizards 7. Pelicans 8. Grizzlies (to BOS top 8 protected) 9. Mavs (to ATL top 5 protected) 10. Wolves 11. Lakers 12. Hornets 13. Heat 14. Kings (to BOS 2-14, 1 to PHI)
The Hawks will have Jami Gertz, co-owner and wife of principal owner Tony Ressler, represent the team at the NBA draft lottery this year. Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk disclosed the decision in a radio interview Tuesday morning and a team spokesperson confirmed that Getz would indeed be back. The draft lottery will be May 14th.
In the old NBA draft lottery system, the three teams with the worst regular-season records were given lottery odds of 25 percent, 19.9 percent and 15.6 percent, respectively, to receive the No. 1 overall pick. Going forward, the three teams with the worst regular-season records will all receive a 14 percent chance. The team that ends the regular season with the worst record this season will receive only 56 percent, about half, of the pingpong balls the worst team in the league last season received. That is a significant drop-off. The bottom three teams in this upcoming draft lottery will all have worse odds of getting the No. 1 pick than the third-worst team last season (15.6 percent chance).
It took 51 drafts, but the Suns landed the first overall pick for the first time in franchise history. Vice President of Basketball Operations James Jones summed up Suns fans feelings just minutes after their card was drawn number one during the NBA Draft Lottery. "I’m stoked man. Why shouldn’t I be?” James said. It had been a long journey for the franchise and Suns fans everywhere, but the relief and celebration finally set in when Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum announced that the franchise would finally select first. “This is a historic night for the Phoenix Suns,” said General Manager Ryan McDonough. “Those of us in the room in Chicago felt the tension, then it was an unbelievable feeling to see it revealed that we received the No. 1 selection. In the illustrious history of the franchise, we’ve never had the first overall pick and to bring it home in such a loaded draft at an important point in time for our franchise, it’s incredible.”
The Suns now officially hold the first overall pick as well as the 16th, 31st and 59th selections. It will be a busy month in Phoenix as the team will be working out players for practically the entire draft range. “I think when you start the draft and virtually end the draft at 59 then you have to cast a wide net,” McDonough said. “We’re prepared for that. It will be an exciting month or so in Phoenix."
Brian Mahoney: Suns were fourth straight team with best odds to win the #NBADraftLottery, after worst team had previously gone 10 straight years without winning. Tanking really paid off in the final years of this format.
"Of course you want to win any contest or lottery," Perry said. "But come into it my expectations were very measured, knowing what the odds were. I'm just happy we didn't move back. We stayed consistent with odds."
Josh Robbins: Will the Magic draft on positional need or look for the best available player? Jeff Weltman's answer: "I think the draft is always a time where you want to add the best available player. You just don't get a crack at this level player very often when you're picking this high."
The Suns finally hit the jackpot in the NBA draft lottery. Phoenix won Tuesday’s lottery and for the first time in franchise history will have the No. 1 pick in the draft, to be held June 21.
“Obviously getting the top pick in this draft with all the talent and all the different options, boy, I’m getting emotional,” General Manager Ryan McDonough said. “It was special. It was cool.” Not surprisingly, McDonough wouldn’t reveal the Suns' plans for the No. 1 pick. “Absolutely not,” he said. “I’ll let you know June 21. I know people jump to conclusions as to who it’s going to be but we don’t know yet.”
Jason Jones: De'Aaron Fox: "Deandre (Ayton) is probably going to Phoenix. That's a given."
Ronald Tillery: Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace on getting the 4th pick in the NBA draft lottery: "There’s always players in the draft, especially at four in this draft. I’m going to have a nice Italian dinner in Chicago."
Eddie Sefko: Michael Finley on picking fifth: “it’s a deep draft. I think we’ll still be able to get a player with the fifth pick that will help us.”
Mike McGraw: Paxson: "The game is at such a state now where versatility is a big thing, especially at the wing. You look at some of the teams still playing, how versatile they are." #Bulls
Michael Cunningham: The winning combination for Suns No. 1 pick in order: 9, 12, 6, 1. Hawks had a chance until the last number.
Sean Cunningham: Entire Kings brass, Vlade Divac, owner Vivek Ranadive and others seen on the broadcast taking pictures on the stage with De’Aaron Fox & the card that awarded them the No. 2 pick.
Michael Cunningham: Hawks GM Schlenk: "If somebody wants to make us a great (trade) offer, we will listen. Right now we are happy to pick 3 and we know we are going to get a good player."
Jessica Camerato: "Probability suggested this is where we would end up tonight, both keeping the pick and selecting at No. 10. Given the depth of the draft pool, we expect to be in a position to add another talented young piece to our developing core." - Bryan Colangelo in #Sixers statement
Shams Charania: Top-3 order for the 2018 NBA draft: 1. Phoenix 2. Sacramento 3. Atlanta.
Steve Kyler: #14 DEN, #13 LAC, #12 LAC , #11 CHA, #10 PHI, #9 NYK, #8 CLE, #7 CHI, #6 ORL, #5 DAL, #4 MEM #2018NBADraft
Albert Nahmad: The Lakers will send their 2018 1st-round pick (No. 10 overall) to the 76ers. As a result, Celtics will get the more favorable of 76ers 2-30 and Kings 2-30 in 2019, while 76ers will get either their or Kings pick if it lands No. 1 overall or the less favorable of the two if not.
Albert Nahmad: The Pistons will send their 2018 first-round draft pick, which will land at No. 12, to the Clippers as part of the Blake Griffin trade.
Zach Lowe: Why I love the lottery, Part 8607. Me to Josh Jackson: "Did you bring any lucky charms." Josh: "I'm wearing my lucky underwear." Me: "Should I even ask the follow up?" Josh: "Probably not."
Scott Bordow: Just talked to Marvin Bagley III. Asked him if he was nervous or excited. “I’m just looking forward to it all,” he said
Jon Johnson: Some clarity for Sixers fans: The Lakers pick can only be 1st - 3rd overall, or 10th - 13th. Nothing in between. Plan your emotions accordingly.
Gilbert, son of Cavs owner Dan, had brain surgery back in February. LeBron James said it’s a blessing to see Nick around and representing the Cavs. “Anytime you have somebody going through something that’s life threatening and be able to go to some of the home games and represent our team at the lottery tonight, it’s a blessing,” James told reporters at Cleveland’s shootaround on Tuesday.
Some of the most consequential minutes of the NBA season will occur Tuesday night in Chicago when the annual draft lottery order is determined. The Phoenix Suns, who finished with a league-worst record 21-61 have a 25% chance of landing the top overall pick, which could net them Arizona center Deandre Ayton or European sensation Luka Doncic. Others, like the Memphis Grizzlies (20%), the Dallas Mavericks (14%) and the Atlanta Hawks (14%) are praying the ping pong balls bounce in their favor.
It’s even possible, albeit unlikely, that the Philadelphia 76ers, who own the Los Angeles Lakers’ pick, could wind up with another top overall selection. Due to last year’s Boston-Philadelphia swap for the No. 1 overall pick, the Celtics, currently up 1-0 in the conference finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers, even have a chance at landing the No. 2 or No. 3 pick. It’s highly likely this pick remains with the Sixers in the 10-13 range, but stranger things have happened.
The Celtics will be represented at the lottery, just in case. Assistant general manager Mike Zarren will be present in the drawing room, and team president Rich Gotham will be in the main stage area, although the Lakers’ seat is expected to be initially occupied by a 76ers representative, as there is a 97.1 percent chance that they will keep the pick.
Phoenix Suns forward Josh Jackson surprised 9-year-old Suns fan Jazmyne Weber today with an invitation to join him on a trip of a lifetime to attend the 2018 NBA Draft Lottery in Chicago on Tuesday, May 15. The surprise event was held at the Ability360 Sports and Fitness Center, where Jazmyne thought she was attending just another day of physical therapy. The Suns also presented Jazmyne with a personalized sports wheelchair to help her pursue her passion of playing wheelchair basketball.
Jerry West will officially represent the Los Angeles Clippers at the 2018 NBA Draft Lottery on Tuesday night. It will be LA’s first lottery since 2010.
Ian Begley: Knicks GM Scott Perry will represent the team at the draft lottery next Tuesday, Steve Mills said on MSG Network. "I'm counting on him (to bring the Knicks luck)." NYK has a 6.2 percent chance of moving into the Top-3.
TJ McBride: I can confirm @Harrison Wind's report that Jamal Murray will be the #Nuggets' representative at the 2018 NBA draft lottery. Harrison was first on the scoop.
Marc Berman: Silver on tanking next season with revised lottery odds: "That will reduce incentive for a race to the bottom. But I will say I can’t say I’m convinced that will eradicate the problem.” Knicks will certainly be racing amidst the bottom." (@Sirius XM NBA
Michael Cunningham: Hawks lose draft tiebreaker vs. Mavs. DAL to pick no later than 6th, ATL no later than 7th. DAL also has slightly better chance to win No. 1 pick.
KC Johnson: Bulls win tiebreaker drawing with Kings. Bulls slot 6th, Kings slot 7th heading into May 15 draft lottery. Both own 5.3% chance at No. 1 pick and 18.25% chance at moving into top 3.
Michael Cunningham: NBA draft tiebreak drawing live on NBA TV April 13 about 5:45 pm. Will determine if Hawks pick no later than 6th or 7th and if pick via MIN is 18th or 19th.
Bobby Marks: A Milwaukee win on Wednesday at Philadelphia or a Miami loss to Toronto would allow the Bucks to retain their first this season. If both teams (or with Washington) are tied, a random drawing will take place after the season. The pick is protected 1-10 and 17-30 and would convey to Phoenix if it falls between 11-16. The Bucks currently have the 17th pick in the Draft with a win tonight vs. Orlando and a Miami loss to Oklahoma City. If not conveyed, Phoenix will have Milwaukee's first in 2019, protected 1-3 and 17-30.
KC Johnson: Adam Silver on why draft lottery reform was so important to NBA: "It felt to us, at least with existing odds for the first, second and third pick, that it was almost too tempting to exclusively seek that rebuilding strategy to build a championship team. So we changed the odds."
KC Johnson: Adam Silver on draft lottery reform: "I don’t think it’s the perfect system yet. But drafts by definition aren’t. It’s a compromise of sorts. But I think it will appropriately focus teams on winning, which is first and foremost what they should be doing."
The NBA says it will hold its draft lottery in Chicago next spring. The league announced Thursday the event will be held outside New York or New Jersey for the first time on May 15. It will be followed by the draft combine May 16-20 in Chicago, where it has been conducted for years.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban isn't convinced the NBA's new draft lottery system will discourage teams from tanking, which is why he abstained from the vote during last month's board of governors meeting. The lottery reform passed by a 28-1-1 vote, with the Oklahoma City Thunder the lone team voting against it. The NBA needed 23 of 30 teams to pass the legislation. Cuban told ESPN that he proposed two alternative scenarios -- one to the board of governors, another privately to commissioner Adam Silver -- that would have more strongly discouraged tanking than the proposal that passed.
However, neither of Cuban's proposals got any traction. Cuban pitched other members of the league's board of governors on a system in which the draft is abolished, with teams getting a pool of money to sign rookies based on their records. "The team with the worst record gets the most money and the team with the best record gets the least money," Cuban said. "It's like a free agency. It makes it a lot harder to tank because you don't know if you get the best players if you're horrible all the time. "Nobody liked that at all, not a single person."
Cuban's other idea was to lock the team with the worst record into a draft slot -- either third or fourth -- to force teams to compete to avoid being at the bottom. That idea never got discussed in the board of directors meeting. "Now all of the sudden, if it's close at the end, you're going to see teams play as hard as they can because if they end up with the worst record, they don't get the best pick," Cuban said, explaining the logic of his idea."You basically eliminate them from getting the best player. Everybody else would just be the way it is now. "Adam didn't like that. That never got to the board of directors, but that one was my favorite. I brought up [the other proposal], but after that one got shot down, I didn't bring up the other one. When I got no response on the one, I just dropped the other because it was obvious that what they had proposed was going to pass."
Howard Beck: NBA adopts two measures to curb tanking: 1. Lottery reform 2. Rules on resting players Details:
Flattening the odds in the NBA's draft lottery, a changed passed today by an overwhelming 28-1-1 vote of team owners, will not end tanking and may not reduce it much. The league knows that; they repeatedly characterized the proposal as "an incremental step" toward more potential tweaks, sources say. They are concerned about egregious tanking from teams that are already awful -- the sort of tanking that generates think pieces and angry tweets.
Daryl Morey: @SamHinkie tanking is solved.
The National Basketball Association is aggressively pursuing draft lottery reform that could be voted into legislation before the start of the 2017-'18 season, league sources told ESPN. Commissioner Adam Silver is a strong advocate to de-incentivize tanking by implementing lower odds on the NBA's worst teams to gain the top picks in the draft, league sources said.
The proposed measures would also increase the chances of better teams making a jump up into the draft lottery. The NBA's 14 non-playoff team compromise the league's annual draft lottery system. If passed, the lottery reform would be phased into use over time, and there's no indication that the 2018 NBA Draft would fall under new legislation, league sources said.
Falling to eighth in the NBA Draft Lottery severely hurt the Knicks’ chances of getting either Kentucky guard. Fox is expected to be taken in the top five. Monk, projected to go sixth, also should be gone when the Knicks pick. “Hopefully,” he said inside the Vanderbilt YMCA Thursday.
A day after watching teams leapfrog his Phoenix Suns in the NBA Draft Lottery, general manager Ryan McDonough wasn’t feeling any worse for wear. He’s comfortable picking fourth in the June 22 draft. And after Phoenix rested veterans this past season to help its lottery odds, McDonough does have a critique for the current system. “I would like to see the odds be smoothed out a little bit,” he told Jon Bloom on Wednesday as a guest of the Suns postseason special show on 98.7 FM, Arizona’s Sports Station.
Ryan McDonough: “The more the league could add a little variance in there and de-incentivize losing, I think that would be good for the good of the league and I think it’d be a nice change going forward.”
Chris Dempsey: Connelly: "There will be a good young player at No. 13 to add to our young core.”
Serena Winters: Magic Johnson when asked about being excited to work out Lonzo Ball & Markelle Fultz at No. 2, also mentioned Josh Jackson (on @SpectrumSN)
Metta World Peace: Wow @lakers @magicjohnson has all the tools to build more Real Estate. Exciting for LA pic.twitter.com/lsdB2ETbNa
