Why is it that in professional sports, the team with the worst record gets first pick

[WhipperSnapper]

Exactly. The last 4 first round draft picks for the Lions have been Calvin Johnson, Matthew Stafford, Ndamukong Suh, and Nick Fairly. They've gotten two offensive super stars and two defensive super stars. And where are they now? They've got a team that has been pretty magnificent in the first half of the season.

The Lions turnaround isn't merely due to those first round picks. They also drafted decently in other rounds and made some shrewd trades and free agency pickups. Their front office and coaching staff has just done a remarkable job of bringing in overlooked and mis-coached talent. After the 2008 (0-16) season they were essentially an expansion team that had wide receiver Calvin Johnson, future Hall of Fame kicker Jason Hanson, and a durable, average but serviceable left tackle in Jeff Backus. In fact there's only a small handful of players left on the team from the 2008 season.

Looking forward their biggest problem will be rebuilding their offensive line where they have an aging left tackle (Backus) and an aging average or below average center (Dominic Raola) who doesn't have the power to run block. They don't have any 5th or 6th year backups (that they would have drafted) who could take over. They're still suffering from the Millen drafts in that area.

 

[AstroManLuca]

Don't you think it would get boring if the same small group of teams won over and over again? Consequently, the same policy underlies the logic of having a salary cap to an extent. One of the problems in baseball is that one team, the NY Yankees, outspends all of the other teams reducing interest for non-NY fanbases to an extent.

And yet somehow 9 different teams have won the last 11 World Series.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

Slow your roll bud. Fairley has 1 tackle in 3 games played. Please don't refer to him as a superstar. That kid has "bust" written all over him.

He broke his foot in training camp and then re-injured it a little bit. It's too early to call him a bust, but it's not looking so good. He was kind of a luxury pick since they were already very strong at defensive tackle, but the Lions thought that he was, by far, the best player available when their pick came and they couldn't believe he was still available.

 

[oogabooga]

I think the millions of dollars thrown at them can ease the pain a bit.

Depends on the sport too.

In baseball, I believe a significant portion of draft picks never play for the team that drafted them be it because they fail to break into the majors or they get traded for someone the team needs then and there.

It's probably most brutal in NFL/NBA since you'll most likely be used sooner than later. NHL you'll likely have some development time in the minors baring a desperate team rushing your ass - which yea that would suck for the player since it'll probably cut their career short.

 

[mvbighead]

Depends on the sport too.

In baseball, I believe a significant portion of draft picks never play for the team that drafted them be it because they fail to break into the majors or they get traded for someone the team needs then and there.

It's probably most brutal in NFL/NBA since you'll most likely be used sooner than later. NHL you'll likely have some development time in the minors baring a desperate team rushing your ass - which yea that would suck for the player since it'll probably cut their career short.

I'd have to disagree with rushing a player. I suppose, in a sense it is correct. But in my mind, a player either has it, or he doesn't. Manning has it, Brady has it, Brees has it. Since starting, most of these players seldom leave the field. They're out there week after week. Injuries to them are far more rare than injuries to someone like others.

So whether a player gets thrown in early or not, they're either going to take the opportunity and get better week after week, or they're going to flop.

That's the whole idea behind the draft. Teams tend to take the players that they think will have it. Gholston has been a good example of someone who flopped. But a number of others have stepped up to the plate and performed week after week.

 

[Lithium381]

so the 9ers get first pick every year