Stop the lottery.
So says ESPN NBA Draft guru Fran Fraschilla, who believes the social-distancing machinations involved in arranging one amid the coronavirus pandemic is not worth the bother.
The lottery is to be staged on May 14 in Chicago. If the NBA does not officially eliminate the regular season by that date, the lottery seeds would still go undetermined.
Fraschilla contends teams should know by May 1 where it selects, so they can get on with their business. Clubs are already under the disadvantage of not having the conference tournaments and NCAA Tournament to scout and likely will have no Draft Combine, live pre-draft workouts or in-person interviews.
Fraschilla said the current standings are a good barometer to rank the NBA Draft order. This is also a draft in which there’s no consensus No. 1 pick or a certifiable NBA star, Fraschilla said.
Golden State would benefit most as it has the NBA’s worst record, giving the Warriors the No. 1 pick. The Knicks have the sixth-worst record and would be locked into that spot.
“I think the lottery order is down the list of priorities,’’ the former St. John’s coach told The Post. “I’d be down with (no lottery). If the season were to abruptly end, I don’t think there’s a need for a lottery since it seems to me nobody looked like they were tanking the season anyway. Leave the order as is and go on with the next step on when they can feasibly have an NBA Draft.’’
According to a source, the NBA is expected to try to hold a virtual lottery because of social-distancing rules. But while most events are being performed remotely, the NBA lottery is a special case and could compromise its stellar integrity compared to past years. Making the ping-pong ball drawing via the video application Zoom might raise questions.
Under normal circumstances, league executive Kiki Vandeweghe, an hour before the lottery show, is stationed in a private room with 14 team executives — one witness for each lottery club.
Also in attendance are a rep from the lottery machine manufacturer who measures the balls and an accountant from Ernst & Young. A handful of reporters are also invited into the secured room.
It is a meticulous procedure after years of hearing conspiracy theories early in the lottery’s dawning that followed the Patrick Ewing Lottery, which the Knicks won.
The 14 ping-pong balls are drawn one-by-one, then the congregation is holed up together without cell phones until the nationally televised lottery show is completed. The highlight of the proceedings center around the 14-person dais constructed of prominent members from each lottery team.
There is nothing specific in the CBA about needing a lottery but cancelling it would have to be bargained with the union. For now the NBA feels confident it could pull off a lottery remotely.
Whenever the lottery is held, the Knicks have a nine-percent chance of winning the top pick, but also a 51 percent chance of falling to No. 7 or 8. Cleveland currently has the second-worst record and Minnesota the third-worst.
A Zoom-oriented lottery could still make for good TV ratings — always a factor — even if the show is just commissioner Adam Silver, in his empty home office, reading aloud the new order after the ping-pong balls bounce without the usual amount of live witnesses.
In a video chat on the NBA website with TNT’s Ernie Johnson Monday night, Silver said there would be no decisions on cancelling the season until some time in May. The season was suspended on March 11.
“Sitting here today, I know less than I did then,” the commissioner said. “What that means in terms of our ability to (return) at some point in late spring or summer is still unknown to me.”
