After reading Brian Berger's Sports Business Radio Blog yesterday, I became a little bit upset. In the post Mr. Berger criticized current Memphis Grizzlies GM Jerry West for these comments following the draft lottery: "It's like pitching pennies. It's grossly unfair to the team, but I've said it before, I don't think the lottery is fair. I never liked it. I don't think it's a good system at all, period.Berger categorized the comments as "sour grapes", stating that Mr. West only made the comments because his team lost the lottery. However, being the media watch dog that I am, I know that Jerry West had been urging the league to change its current lottery system long before Tuesday's draft lottery. In fact, in a podcast with Chad Ford back in early April, Mr. West spent half of the interview talking about how terrible he thought the system was.
"There have been a lot of picks in the lottery that have [failed]. There are two in the lottery this year that are not going to fail. There are two superstars in the draft. I think for the teams fortunate enough to get them, the fortunes of their franchises have changed forever."
