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Funny thing about Lottery World. You go down there, it isn't so easy to come back out again.
|  | | Elton Brand wasn't enough for the Bulls. |
The Celtics, Nuggets, Pistons and Nets have fans who actually cannot remember the last time their heroes were in the post-season.
The Bulls and the Rockets were champions in the '90s and now they are accepting scraps from the underage lottery pool.
In six years, Vancouver never got a sniff. Not since Bill Fitch have the Clippers done that most unnatural thing: play in a post-season game.
Nothing magical about those Wizards and the Warriors aren't warriors. They are chumps. In boxing they would fight four-round preliminaries.
Problem these days with the lottery is that the tool designed to get you out -- the draft -- only buries you deeper.
What did Kenyon Martin do for the Nets? Elton Brand for the Bulls? Michael Olowokandi for the Clippers?
Last guy to turn a team around was Tim Duncan, who ended up in San Antonio by a series of freakish events, including David Robinson's back surgery. Before that? Robinson himself.
The children in the lottery can't save teams. Lottery clubs like the Bulls who scrimp and save to create cap room find that no one wants to play for them.
Suppose C-Webb doesn't want to play in Detroit. How does this franchise climb out a decade after winning back-to-back titles? Will the Cuyahoga River burn again before the Cavs make it back? The South rose again; the Hawks, not yet.
Here's a look at the downtrodden and prospects for the future:
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| Olajuwon |
The Unlucky 13 (lottery teams)
Houston: Has any team ever won so many games and missed the playoffs? No. Does that qualify the Rockets for better things next season? Not exactly. Consider that their front line is so weak, they are forced to bring back Hakeem Olajuwon. Poof. There goes the cap room. Maurice Taylor doesn't rebound and isn't eager to return. Shandon Anderson can't wait to go where his ability to move without the ball will be rewarded. The Rockets privately concede Kelvin Cato's no gamer and a waste of $40 million. New rules strip the Rocks of their patented isolation game. No guarantees here.
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| Van Exel |
Denver: Word is Dan Issel will lose one or both jobs. Nick Van Exel remains scary whether he's playing for you or against you. And there's that matter of the James Posey Revolt, and bad trades that sent away Keon Clark and Bryant Stith. In a tough conference, the Nuggets simply may be as good as they are going to get without an infusion of leadership.
Seattle: The Sonics will slip $6 million under the cap when they renounce Patrick Ewing. Then the focus is in getting chubby Vin Baker out of town. Good luck with that $87 million contract, which has five more years to run. Do they also seek a deal for Gary Payton and simply start over again with young people? Hard choice. Free agent Ruben Patterson wants a big contract. Don't we all?
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| Pierce |
Boston: Paul Pierce already has the help wanted sign out. No secret the Celtics need to get much better. But they are capped and probably don't have the courage to move the most selfish player in the league in Antoine Walker. Kenny Anderson wants out, but who wants him? The Celtics must add a strong inside presence if they are going to make the playoffs next season.
Atlanta: Put Theo Ratliff in the middle, Toni Kukoc on the wing, mix in a year of seasoning for Jason Terry and too quick DerMarr Johnson. Then package one of your extra big guys and a high lottery pick and get back a shooter and a big point guard who can defend in the fourth quarter. What have you got? A Hawks team that improves by as many as 20 games in the standings if everything falls into place.
Detroit: Joe Dumars wants Chris Webber. He's got the cash. He's got the hometown lure. He's got the shooter in Jerry Stackhouse, who can take the heat off an explosive front line scorer. Owner Bill Davidson wants Tom Izzo to leave Michigan State and coach his team. Money will speak in high volume. Besides, did you know Izzo and Dumars have the same agent? A better choice would be Rick Carlisle.
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| Olowokandi |
L.A. Clippers: They're MAKING money. People in L.A. come to see them play. Now, if Donald Sterling will only keep these young high flyers together, they may amount to something. "He'll screw it up," asserts ex-Clip Lorenzen Wright. Big question: Olowokandi. As the top pick in '98 he's a bust from the class that produced Vince Carter, Dirk Nowitzki, Pierce and Antawn Jamison. What can he bring in trade?
New Jersey: Face it: the Swamp Nets are cursed. While the Soprano family routinely breaks legs on Sunday nights, think about it: whoever heard of broken legs in basketball? Yet, Jayson Williams breaks his leg. Keith Van Horn breaks his leg. Kenyon Martin breaks his leg. If Byron Scott thinks he can win here, it's going to break his heart.
Cleveland: Owner Gordon Gund has kept a low profile but coach Randy Wittman's job clearly is in jeopardy. His biggest failing is he could not prevent Zydrunas Ilgauskas from breaking his foot again. But dumping Wittman serves no purpose. You've got to have players. The Cavs still don't have cap space. Unless Ilgauskas can make a successful comeback they are doomed to remain in the 30-win group. Firing Mike Fratello wasn't such a good idea after all.
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| Laettner |
Washington: If Michael Jordan does decide to play again and leaves town and Abe Pollin in his misery, then the Wizards may be finished forever. If His Airness stays to build the team he can attract some nice free agent players in the summer of 2002, but the Wizards are going to be bad again next season, no mistaking that. Do they bring back Mr. Personality Christian Laettner?
Vancouver: The Grizz in Vancouver were a bad team. The Express in Memphis will be a bad team with the added burden of having a terrible travel schedule as a Midwest Division team in the Western Conference. Owner Michael Heisley hasn't impressed anyone, and the franchise is wallowing under rank cronyism. Hey, Heisley, hire a real basketball man and get a coach who commands respect. Hey, how about that Fratello guy?
Golden State: If they all get healthy, IF they all get healthy, could they win 30 games? They won exactly two games after the All-Star break, worst performance since the 1967-68 San Diego Rockets won a single game. Meanwhile, they lead the league in player games lost to injuries. If the Warriors were a dot.com they would be a penny stock.
Chicago: What an unattractive team they've become, so bad Jerry Reinsdorf has offered to freeze ticket prices the next three years. There are no free agents to sign this summer. The draft won't make them any better. Tim Floyd and Jerry Reinsdorf will go fishing this summer and they may decide not to come back.
Jeffrey Denberg, who covers the NBA for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.
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