Draft Lottery Highlights Conflict of Interest for David Stern's NBA-Run Hornets

Chances are that no one will ever know whether the 2012 NBA Draft Lottery was rigged or not–but that's not the point.

One can–and perhaps should–give David Stern and his league-owned New Orleans Hornets the benefit of the doubt. As tempting as it is to imagine the worst, it's worth suspending our conspiratorial suspicions at least for the moment.

Absent any real evidence, there's not much more we can do.

But, at best, the very obvious problem here is an appearance of wrongdoing. Even with nothing more than a gut instinct to question that appearance, it has jeopardized the league's legitimacy in the eyes of its most vital stakeholders: the fans and the teams that keep this whole thing going.

For those of us completely at the mercy of the NBA's word, it's only natural to expect something more reassuring than the league's absurdity. According to Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, fans aren't alone in their frustration:

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The reaction of several league executives was part disgust, part resignation on Wednesday night. So many had predicted this happening, so many suspected that somehow, someway, the Hornets would walk away with Davis. That's the worst part for the NBA; these aren't the railings from the guy sitting at the corner tavern, but the belief of those working within the machinery that something undue happened here, that they suspect it happens all the time under Stern.

"

Of course, if this is what well-informed league insiders are surmising, you can only imagine what those guys at the "corner tavern" are saying.

And, no one should blame them.

Labeling the league's detractors as paranoid is an all-too easy out. It may be entirely true that Stern's detractors go too far, but that's what happens when powerful interests are immune to any kind of meaningful scrutiny.

It's also what happens when the NBA's interests are so closely intertwined with a franchise it still technically owns.

A conflict of interest notwithstanding, this lottery was by all accounts a legitimate endeavor. Sports Illustrated's Zach Lowe was one of the media representatives allowed to watch the actual drawing, and he seems pretty convinced nothing untoward occurred.

Chances are he's absolutely correct.

The problem isn't what happened behind closed doors. On the contrary, the problem has everything to do with image.

That isn't the fault of those given to wild speculation. It's the byproduct of a league that cares too little for too long about how it looks in the eyes of those supporting it.

That won't change overnight, and it won't change with a new renovated draft procedure. Instead, it will take an enduring commitment to be more transparent and more accountable.