On Tuesday night, representatives from the NBA’s unfortunates gathered in New York City for the annual lottery selection to determine the fate of their teams. The odds were stacked in favor of the Philadelphia 76ers, the worst of the worst for the past several seasons. Everyone else was relying on everything from lucky charms to jewelry of the late Flip Saunders to actual Lucky Charms.
In the end, the lottery spat out numbers that perfectly reflected the odds of each entrant. From top to bottom, no one switched from where the odds projected them. The Sixers were blessed with the No. 1 spot in the upcoming draft, just the third time they have held that coveted position in their history. The last time they were in this position it netted them a young buck by the name of Allen Iverson. You may have heard of him.
With the order set and no surprises in store, let’s look at the somewhat predictable winners and losers.
Philadelphia 76ers: Winners
This is clear as day. Sure, a hard decision lies ahead between Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram, but who could blame them for taking either. They should sit back and enjoy this process, they’ve had a whole truckload of bad and worse between a stashed pick (Dario Saric), injuries (Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel) and deceptively yuck (Michael Carter-Williams). And yet, for all of the talent that they have acquired and sent out over the past few years, this is the first time since the inception of “The Process” that they have climbed all the way to the top of the draft board. There may or may not be an A.I. level phenom waiting to be developed in either Simmons or Ingram, but the Sixers are finally going to have their day in the sun.
Chicago Bulls: Losers
Beyond the standard front office ineptitude of recent years – Tony Snell, Doug McDermott for two other picks, Marques Teague over Draymond Green – the Bulls had the chance to steal a second lottery pick this year if the Sacramento Kings pick dropped out of the top 10. That didn’t happen. Instead, the Bulls have the No. 14 pick and nothing else in the first round. Normally, that wouldn’t mean much. However, with the Bulls in transition and in desperate need of adding depth at multiple positions, retooling on the fly, a second pick at a truly serviceable talent level would have been a huge boost to the unsteady Hoiberg era. Also, not a win for the Kings. They keep their pick, but nothing particularly enticing is available and they still have to hope that DeMarcus Cousins doesn’t kill another coach this season. No rookie available outside of the top two spots is going to help this situation all that much.
Los Angeles Lakers: Winners
Lakers fans, rejoice! Dodging a particularly deadly bullet, Los Angeles went from being out of the lottery to having the easiest job in the entire draft. All the Lakers have to do to not lose this draft is take whomever the Sixers leave behind for them at the No. 2 spot, either Simmons or Ingram. It will probably be Ingram, but it doesn’t matter. D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle and Simmons/Ingram with new head coach Luke Walton is going to be fun.
Washington Wizards: Losers
Washington had a terrible season. They probably had no realistic shot at stealing Kevin Durant from the Thunder (or Warriors or Spurs or any other much better team). In fact, the only good thing to happen to the Wizards in 2016 was the firing of Randy Wittman. Even that was long overdue. Their pick, No. 12, is sent to the Phoenix Suns and everyone in the greater D.C. metro is suddenly taking a serious interest in the skills of Bryce Harper.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Winner
Can you imagine a Timberwolves future of Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Simmons/Ingram? Wouldn’t that be something. Minnesota didn’t steal their way into the top two, but they also didn’t fall down the board, retaining their No. 5 slot. There is a lot of medium-to-breakout level talent available at that spot. There is also a reasonable amount of trade value attached to that pick. If the Wolves want to grab someone like Buddy Hield, Jamal Murray, Kris Dunn or even a big like Henry Ellenson or Marquese Chriss. If those options don’t excite, the new Scott Layden-Tom Thibodeau regime could look to make a move for any number of veterans, including some on Thibodeau’s former team, the Chicago Bulls.
Toronto Raptors/Denver Nuggets: Loser/Winner
Denver has two young players that were vote-getters for Rookie of the Year behind Karl-Anthony Towns, one a guard, one a center. Now, they’ve got another top 10 pick to go with that. There are going to be a select number of players available at that position in a somewhat shallow draft, but if Hield falls there, the Nuggets would have a shooter to go with Emmanuel Mudiay at point and Nikola Jokic at center. The Nuggets’ smart drafting has them setting the table for a few years from now on a sneaky good group of young players.
This draft has a clear top two prospects and then about five or six other guys a tier below, which puts the Raptors on the wrong side of that dividing line. Yes, the Raptors did find Norman Powell and hit on that, but the difference between the seven and nine spots this year is the difference between an obvious choice and a gamble.
Sam Hinkie: Winner
I never cared much for the way that the 76ers went about their business. I didn’t like that they were so terrible, that they were sucking up all kinds of top prospects and not turning it into anything. This Sixers team has been one of the most fascinating, infuriating experiments in recent sports history. Mostly, it looks bad, but they finally hit on the No. 1 pick. And they didn’t do it because of a Colangelo. No, it was the thankless and borderline tasteless work of Hinkie that finally produced a top pick.
That draft is still in the not-so-distant future, but come with me on a short journey and suspend your disbelief. Simmons has donned a StubHub-advertising 76ers jersey and walked onto the court. He looks to his left and sees a healthy and jovial Embiid, looks to his right and sees Saric smashing bricks with his face, disconcertingly also jovial. In this world, they have also traded Noel to acquire backcourt depth. This world could be real. This world could be ours. Just step into the light of the completion of “The Process.”
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