(01-11-2026, 07:29 AM)Mavs2021 Wrote: Then I sure hope you have nothing to do with the Mavs in any officially meaningul position.
The 6th placed team has a 37.2% chance to move up in the lottery and a 75.5% chance to pick in the top 7 (in a perceived seven player draft).
The 9th placed team has a 20.2% chance to move up in the lottery, but also a 20.2% chance to pick in the top 7.
So this actually makes a HUGE difference.
If the choice is between Nate Ament and Koi Peat, then really??? Are you so good at analysis that you know which will be better? Of course there's a percentage difference, but outside the top 5, I doubt there's a lot of certainty. I don't think any team will consider it a regular season fight to see who places 7th and 8th in the draft. This isn't Boozer or Peterson we're talking about.
It isn't even mid-season yet. Coaches aren't going to massage their lineups in the regular season to conspicuously lose in a fight for 7 or 8 unless maybe it's the last game of the season. Then Maybe. But you won't be entirely sure how teams will pick above you even then.