How one night the NBA has redesigned: Tatum's injury, lottery chaos and what comes next

The NBA had a lot of data that force us to remember where we were, what we did and with whom we were with at the moment.

When Lebron James chose Miami Heat on July 8, 2010. When Kevin Durant came to the Golden State Warriors on July 7, 2016. When Kobe Bryant dropped 60 points on April 13, 2016 in the last game of his career.

But it is a rarity to watch two such events on the same day – let alone only a few hours apart. For this reason, Monday, May 12, 2025, will not be forgotten in NBA circles soon.

Between the Dallas Mavericks, which lost the 11th best lottery chances in the top-top selection and thus the right to draw the Duke Phenom Cooper Flag in the next month, and the defending champion Boston Celtics, who not only lost Jayson Tatum for the rest of this year's playoffs. Day all around, “said a scout from East.

It was also massively consistent. For a league that has already taken care of the dominance of the western conference, the combination of another generation talent landing in the West has only increased to this gap. The lonely True East Supermacht, who loses a top 5 player in his heyday for over 10 months, transforms it into a gap.

When the dust still decides on the magical lottery of the Mavericks and the franchise-changed injury from Tatum, we have the league about what is always available for the ever-wide east and for a logjam in the west that has just added another generation view that is available.

Insider of the league about the initial shock of Tatum's injury

Only a few injuries are as consistent as the only crime that has just suffered. The 27-year-old, who has the richest contract in the NBA, entered the heyday of his career and will most likely make his fourth all-NBA-First team in a row. It is well on the way to a great career ever and already has a Hall of Fame Creation.

He is the best player in the defending champion, a team who competed on Monday – even while she has had New York Knicks – as a difficult favorite to win the east.

“It is a completely unforeseen scenario,” said an East manager. “It just doesn't happen to such a guy.”

Yes, the Celtics stare at a financial cliff. But Team President Brad Stevens and the Boston Front Office would probably have found a way to facilitate their luxury tax bill without a massive loss to their core. And although it is always dangerous to project too far into the future in the NBA, Boston was on or near the east for the rest of the decade.

“Your mind begins to go through scenarios that you never thought about,” said the executive about Boston's potential thinking. “You thought a lot about it.”

Boston's hopes to repeat this season are almost gone; The Knicks can complete the Celtics on Wednesday (7 p.m. et, ESPN).

And with Tatum essentially written off for the entire 2025-26 The season is difficult to see a scenario in which the Celtics do not think a little this summer because they will be cheaper in 2026-27 and build up for another final.

“This was your last chance with her team to go as far as possible [before the financial crunch]“A West scout said.” You have to get creative. “

A weak east race becomes weaker – and wide open

Milwaukee and Miami were already out of the picture. After winning 37 games, the heat found the playoffs again in the playoffs, but was in the first round by the Cleveland Cavaliers after trading Jimmy Butler III in the season and shows that Miami has a lot of work to return to the elite of the East.

After their own devastating injury, the goats are on a crossroads, with Damian Lillard tore an Achilles during the five-game defeat of the Bucks against the Indiana Pacers. The plus three outputs in the first round in the first round left Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee with an unsafe future.

The final of the Eastern Conference Pacers were able to enter the void. Indiana has determined an identity as a frenetic crime behind Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam on the controls and has a young squad that is largely under team control in the future (with the remarkable exception of Center Myes Turner, a free agent in this offseason).

The New York Knicks have been on the abyss of the first conference finale of the franchise for 25 years, behind a coherent five that is under contract for the foreseeable future. And despite a season of injuries and Pacers, Cleveland believe that she can jump back behind his own young core of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett.

Other medium -sized East teams were able to feel the opportunity to take aggressive steps to improve a level, a strategy that otherwise depends on whether the Boston dynasty really died.

“[Tatum’s injury] Let people start to have different thoughts that it works afterwards, said an East Scout. “How do the windows of other teams look now?” All of these factors in. “

Could the Orlando Magic choose to swing a deal to expand its core of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner? Perhaps the Philadelphia 76ers, after a lottery gave the third choice in June in June, were able to return healthy and for the post -season, or Cade Cunningham and the aspiring Detroit Pistons could take another step forward.

Of all possibilities, you will probably be a focus all summer and next season.

“It makes the east worse,” said the scout. “It's not good for the league.”

Design of the lottery results create new questions about the system

Tatum's injury overshadowed the absolute chaos that the league had overtaken in Chicago a few hours earlier. With Cooper Flag on every board in the league there was a anticipation that took Victor Wembanyama's enthusiasm in 2023.

Knowing that Flagg's probable goal was secondary in June, the Dallas Mavericks became the top selection with a chance of 1.8%. And because the San Antonio Spurs jumped to second place and the 76s jumped to third place, this lottery was only the third in the NBA history, in which the three worst records missed the three best tips.

“This is really more careful what you want for the league,” said a manager.

The last time it was in 1993 when the Orlando Magic did again a year after the landing of Shaquille O'Neal with the top selection to get Chris Webber. And although she was traded with the Warriors in the deal that brought Hardaway to magic, Orlando, who won drafts in a row, led the NBA to change the lottery rules the following season.

Is there a chance that could happen this time? In view of these rules, it seems unlikely that these rules had come into force in 2019 after the first attempt by NBA, Adam Silver to change it a few years earlier, failed. However, it is fair to ask yourself whether the specified goal of the changes – the discouraging tanking – has worked and at the same time to violate the chances of the worst teams to improve.

And yet there were some insiders in the league that were glad that the teams who spent the year to be at the top of the design – namely the wizards of Utah Jazz and Washington – had not succeeded in securing the top election.

“The good thing about it [lottery night] Has these teams get any help? “

ESPN suggested that the league, if it wanted to eliminate the tanking, should completely eliminate the design, and instead the teams have the salary limit created to hire rookies for shops. But even this executive said it was not a realistic chance that this will ever happen for many reasons, including future draft picks that are valuable trading currency.

The league would undoubtedly also indicate teams such as Indiana and Denver, who have put together competitive duty rosters without selection than the seventh, since the proof is that a top selection is not the only way to lay the foundation for a candidate, even in a smaller market.

Design of the lottery grows the conference level

While the headliner flag landed in Dallas, the combination of the Mavericks and Spurs is the two top picks the latest moment when the Western Conference receives an elite infusion of talents.

Since 2004, when Dwight Howard Lebron James followed in landing with teams of Eastern Conference, there has been a steady selection of generation prospects that landed west, from Anthony Davis to Karl-Anthony Towns to Zion Williamson Tovictor Wembanyamaand. This does not even take into account other people who have landed on this side of the main register that have not been seen in the same light as Anthony Edwards or Doncic.

“The West is just getting richer,” said a manager. “How is it that everyone keeps going to the West? For the experienced players you could say that it is better weather to go to California, better organizations. But they are also really lucky.

“It seems that there is one of these generations – Victor, Zion, Anthony Davis – they just end up in the West. It's just bad luck … it's what it is.”

Although this summer is a particularly busy view of the transaction from the perspective of the transaction, 12 Western conference teams currently believe that they can fight for the home court in the west next season: The Thunder, Rockets, Lakers, Nuggets, Clippers, Timberwolves, Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns, The Mavericks and The Mavericks Spours.

Cleveland, New York and Indiana sit at the top in the east, followed by a massive uncertainty in Boston and Milwaukee and then massive questions about the effort of every team afterwards. For example, imagine a world in which Antetocounmpo is in a western conference team this summer?

“Cooper Flag will go west in the next 10 years, Giannis could go west, Tatum is out of the mix for a year and the Celtics are probably too,” said a scout.

“Good for East teams who try to achieve the final.” Br/]