NEW YORK — You know why the dateline for the Draft Lottery says “New York” instead of “Secaucus, N.J.?”
Because they dynamited the old NBA Entertainment Studios where the lottery was held for more than a decade, so if they wanted to do the ping-pong ball thingee amid a pile of rubble.
So the Millennium Hotel in Times Square is the place where the fate of the 14-non-playoff teams will be decided, and the team that has the most to lose by winning is the Toronto Raptors.
When the Raptors acquired Kyle Lowry from the Houston Rockets, they surrendered a draft pick that is Top 3 protected this year, Top 2 protected in 2014 and Top 1 protected in 2015. So if the Raptors’ combination of ping-pong balls comes up tonight, they will keep their pick but will have a much higher likelihood of losing it next year when the 2014 draft will be the most loaded in over a decade.
That pick is now the property of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who acquired it in the James Harden trade. So if the 99-1 odds hold, it’ll be the Thunder selecting 12th. Who might they select? Check out our Mock Draft 2.0.1, which will be subbed out tonight by Mock Draft 3.0 after the festivities are complete.
Here are the mathematical chances each team has of winning the lottery:
TEAM 1000 PICK 1 PICK 2 PK 3
Orlando 250 25.00% 21.51% 17.77%
Charlotte 199 19.90% 18.81% 17.12%
Cleveland 156 15.60% 15.74% 15.59%
Phoenix 119 11.90% 12.60% 13.30%
New Orleans 88 8.80% 9.66% 10.68%
Sacramento 63 6.30% 7.10% 8.12%
Detroit 43 4.30% 4.94% 5.79%
Washington 28 2.80% 3.26% 3.89%
Minnesota 17 1.70% 2.00% 2.41%
Portland 11 1.10% 1.30% 1.58%
Philadelphia 8 0.80% 0.95% 1.15%
Toronto 7 0.70% 0.83% 1.01%
Dallas 6 0.60% 0.71% 0.87%
Utah 5 0.50% 0.59% 0.73%