Uh, the team with the worst record is guaranteed a Top 5 pick.
Previously they were guaranteed a Top 4 pick.
Odds for the 4 lottery chosen top slots have been flattened out.
That dopey DAL article has a chump fretting about what was given away. I laughed when he said Jr. Smith was starting to shoot 3's well and play good defense.
then there's this bit of sophistry:
Keep in mind that the Dallas Mavericks are getting a 7’3 Kristaps Porzingis that is recovering from a torn ACL.
There is almost no precedent on players that tall lasting in the NBA. Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Yao Ming, and others all had their careers cut short because of injuries. Mark Eaton is virtually the only player as tall or taller than Porzingis who was durable throughout a lengthy career.
7'6" Sean Bradley played 800+ games, many for DAL, until 32.
7'4" Smits almost 900 games until age 33, missing few games.
And of course there isn't much difference in one inch.
7'2" and over adds some super durable Bigs:
Kareem 1560 games, 2nd most ever and into his 40's;
Artis Gilmore 1300+ until age 38;
Mutombo 1200 games into his 40's.
Hard to believe that one extra inch means your career is doomed to be shortened.
And of course, KZ isn't carrying the weight that Big Z and Yao did.
Both mainly had foot problems, not knee.
Still Z played 843 games, made all-star teams and lasted until age 35, after a few early years of foot woes. So actually his career argues doubly against the point the writer cited him for.
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