In the old NBA draft lottery system, the three teams with the worst regular-season records were given lottery odds of 25 percent, 19.9 percent and 15.6 percent, respectively, to receive the No. 1 overall pick. Going forward, the three teams with the worst regular-season records will all receive a 14 percent chance. The team that ends the regular season with the worst record this season will receive only 56 percent, about half, of the pingpong balls the worst team in the league last season received. That is a significant drop-off. The bottom three teams in this upcoming draft lottery will all have worse odds of getting the No. 1 pick than the third-worst team last season (15.6 percent chance).
Storyline: Draft Lottery
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It took 51 drafts, but the Suns landed the first overall pick for the first time in franchise history. Vice President of Basketball Operations James Jones summed up Suns fans feelings just minutes after their card was drawn number one during the NBA Draft Lottery. “I’m stoked man. Why shouldn’t I be?” James said. It had been a long journey for the franchise and Suns fans everywhere, but the relief and celebration finally set in when Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum announced that the franchise would finally select first. “This is a historic night for the Phoenix Suns,” said General Manager Ryan McDonough. “Those of us in the room in Chicago felt the tension, then it was an unbelievable feeling to see it revealed that we received the No. 1 selection. In the illustrious history of the franchise, we’ve never had the first overall pick and to bring it home in such a loaded draft at an important point in time for our franchise, it’s incredible.”
The Suns now officially hold the first overall pick as well as the 16th, 31st and 59th selections. It will be a busy month in Phoenix as the team will be working out players for practically the entire draft range. “I think when you start the draft and virtually end the draft at 59 then you have to cast a wide net,” McDonough said. “We’re prepared for that. It will be an exciting month or so in Phoenix.”
Brian Mahoney: Suns were fourth straight team with best odds to win the #NBADraftLottery, after worst team had previously gone 10 straight years without winning. Tanking really paid off in the final years of this format.
“Of course you want to win any contest or lottery,” Perry said. “But come into it my expectations were very measured, knowing what the odds were. I’m just happy we didn’t move back. We stayed consistent with odds.”
Josh Robbins: Will the Magic draft on positional need or look for the best available player? Jeff Weltman’s answer: “I think the draft is always a time where you want to add the best available player. You just don’t get a crack at this level player very often when you’re picking this high.”
The Suns finally hit the jackpot in the NBA draft lottery. Phoenix won Tuesday’s lottery and for the first time in franchise history will have the No. 1 pick in the draft, to be held June 21.
“Obviously getting the top pick in this draft with all the talent and all the different options, boy, I’m getting emotional,” General Manager Ryan McDonough said. “It was special. It was cool.” Not surprisingly, McDonough wouldn’t reveal the Suns’ plans for the No. 1 pick. “Absolutely not,” he said. “I’ll let you know June 21. I know people jump to conclusions as to who it’s going to be but we don’t know yet.”
Jason Jones: De’Aaron Fox: “Deandre (Ayton) is probably going to Phoenix. That’s a given.”
Ronald Tillery: Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace on getting the 4th pick in the NBA draft lottery: “There’s always players in the draft, especially at four in this draft. I’m going to have a nice Italian dinner in Chicago.”
Eddie Sefko: Michael Finley on picking fifth: “it’s a deep draft. I think we’ll still be able to get a player with the fifth pick that will help us.”
Mike McGraw: Paxson: “The game is at such a state now where versatility is a big thing, especially at the wing. You look at some of the teams still playing, how versatile they are.” #Bulls
Michael Cunningham: The winning combination for Suns No. 1 pick in order: 9, 12, 6, 1. Hawks had a chance until the last number.
Sean Cunningham: Entire Kings brass, Vlade Divac, owner Vivek Ranadive and others seen on the broadcast taking pictures on the stage with De’Aaron Fox & the card that awarded them the No. 2 pick.
Michael Cunningham: Hawks GM Schlenk: “If somebody wants to make us a great (trade) offer, we will listen. Right now we are happy to pick 3 and we know we are going to get a good player.”
Jessica Camerato: “Probability suggested this is where we would end up tonight, both keeping the pick and selecting at No. 10. Given the depth of the draft pool, we expect to be in a position to add another talented young piece to our developing core.” – Bryan Colangelo in #Sixers statement
Shams Charania: Top-3 order for the 2018 NBA draft: 1. Phoenix 2. Sacramento 3. Atlanta.
Steve Kyler: #14 DEN, #13 LAC, #12 LAC , #11 CHA, #10 PHI, #9 NYK, #8 CLE, #7 CHI, #6 ORL, #5 DAL, #4 MEM #2018NBADraft
Albert Nahmad: The Lakers will send their 2018 1st-round pick (No. 10 overall) to the 76ers. As a result, Celtics will get the more favorable of 76ers 2-30 and Kings 2-30 in 2019, while 76ers will get either their or Kings pick if it lands No. 1 overall or the less favorable of the two if not.
Albert Nahmad: The Pistons will send their 2018 first-round draft pick, which will land at No. 12, to the Clippers as part of the Blake Griffin trade.
Zach Lowe: Why I love the lottery, Part 8607. Me to Josh Jackson: “Did you bring any lucky charms.” Josh: “I’m wearing my lucky underwear.” Me: “Should I even ask the follow up?” Josh: “Probably not.”
Scott Bordow: Just talked to Marvin Bagley III. Asked him if he was nervous or excited. “I’m just looking forward to it all,” he said
Jon Johnson: Some clarity for Sixers fans: The Lakers pick can only be 1st – 3rd overall, or 10th – 13th. Nothing in between. Plan your emotions accordingly.
Gilbert, son of Cavs owner Dan, had brain surgery back in February. LeBron James said it’s a blessing to see Nick around and representing the Cavs. “Anytime you have somebody going through something that’s life threatening and be able to go to some of the home games and represent our team at the lottery tonight, it’s a blessing,” James told reporters at Cleveland’s shootaround on Tuesday.
Some of the most consequential minutes of the NBA season will occur Tuesday night in Chicago when the annual draft lottery order is determined. The Phoenix Suns, who finished with a league-worst record 21-61 have a 25% chance of landing the top overall pick, which could net them Arizona center Deandre Ayton or European sensation Luka Doncic. Others, like the Memphis Grizzlies (20%), the Dallas Mavericks (14%) and the Atlanta Hawks (14%) are praying the ping pong balls bounce in their favor.
It’s even possible, albeit unlikely, that the Philadelphia 76ers, who own the Los Angeles Lakers’ pick, could wind up with another top overall selection. Due to last year’s Boston-Philadelphia swap for the No. 1 overall pick, the Celtics, currently up 1-0 in the conference finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers, even have a chance at landing the No. 2 or No. 3 pick. It’s highly likely this pick remains with the Sixers in the 10-13 range, but stranger things have happened.
The Celtics will be represented at the lottery, just in case. Assistant general manager Mike Zarren will be present in the drawing room, and team president Rich Gotham will be in the main stage area, although the Lakers’ seat is expected to be initially occupied by a 76ers representative, as there is a 97.1 percent chance that they will keep the pick.
Phoenix Suns forward Josh Jackson surprised 9-year-old Suns fan Jazmyne Weber today with an invitation to join him on a trip of a lifetime to attend the 2018 NBA Draft Lottery in Chicago on Tuesday, May 15. The surprise event was held at the Ability360 Sports and Fitness Center, where Jazmyne thought she was attending just another day of physical therapy. The Suns also presented Jazmyne with a personalized sports wheelchair to help her pursue her passion of playing wheelchair basketball.
Jerry West will officially represent the Los Angeles Clippers at the 2018 NBA Draft Lottery on Tuesday night. It will be LA’s first lottery since 2010.
Ian Begley: Knicks GM Scott Perry will represent the team at the draft lottery next Tuesday, Steve Mills said on MSG Network. “I’m counting on him (to bring the Knicks luck).” NYK has a 6.2 percent chance of moving into the Top-3.
TJ McBride: I can confirm @Harrison Wind’s report that Jamal Murray will be the #Nuggets’ representative at the 2018 NBA draft lottery. Harrison was first on the scoop.
Marc Berman: Silver on tanking next season with revised lottery odds: “That will reduce incentive for a race to the bottom. But I will say I can’t say I’m convinced that will eradicate the problem.” Knicks will certainly be racing amidst the bottom.” (@Sirius XM NBA
Michael Cunningham: Hawks lose draft tiebreaker vs. Mavs. DAL to pick no later than 6th, ATL no later than 7th. DAL also has slightly better chance to win No. 1 pick.
KC Johnson: Bulls win tiebreaker drawing with Kings. Bulls slot 6th, Kings slot 7th heading into May 15 draft lottery. Both own 5.3% chance at No. 1 pick and 18.25% chance at moving into top 3.
Michael Cunningham: NBA draft tiebreak drawing live on NBA TV April 13 about 5:45 pm. Will determine if Hawks pick no later than 6th or 7th and if pick via MIN is 18th or 19th.
Bobby Marks: A Milwaukee win on Wednesday at Philadelphia or a Miami loss to Toronto would allow the Bucks to retain their first this season. If both teams (or with Washington) are tied, a random drawing will take place after the season. The pick is protected 1-10 and 17-30 and would convey to Phoenix if it falls between 11-16. The Bucks currently have the 17th pick in the Draft with a win tonight vs. Orlando and a Miami loss to Oklahoma City. If not conveyed, Phoenix will have Milwaukee’s first in 2019, protected 1-3 and 17-30.
KC Johnson: Adam Silver on why draft lottery reform was so important to NBA: “It felt to us, at least with existing odds for the first, second and third pick, that it was almost too tempting to exclusively seek that rebuilding strategy to build a championship team. So we changed the odds.”
KC Johnson: Adam Silver on draft lottery reform: “I don’t think it’s the perfect system yet. But drafts by definition aren’t. It’s a compromise of sorts. But I think it will appropriately focus teams on winning, which is first and foremost what they should be doing.”
The NBA says it will hold its draft lottery in Chicago next spring. The league announced Thursday the event will be held outside New York or New Jersey for the first time on May 15. It will be followed by the draft combine May 16-20 in Chicago, where it has been conducted for years.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban isn’t convinced the NBA’s new draft lottery system will discourage teams from tanking, which is why he abstained from the vote during last month’s board of governors meeting. The lottery reform passed by a 28-1-1 vote, with the Oklahoma City Thunder the lone team voting against it. The NBA needed 23 of 30 teams to pass the legislation. Cuban told ESPN that he proposed two alternative scenarios — one to the board of governors, another privately to commissioner Adam Silver — that would have more strongly discouraged tanking than the proposal that passed.
However, neither of Cuban’s proposals got any traction. Cuban pitched other members of the league’s board of governors on a system in which the draft is abolished, with teams getting a pool of money to sign rookies based on their records. “The team with the worst record gets the most money and the team with the best record gets the least money,” Cuban said. “It’s like a free agency. It makes it a lot harder to tank because you don’t know if you get the best players if you’re horrible all the time. “Nobody liked that at all, not a single person.”
Cuban’s other idea was to lock the team with the worst record into a draft slot — either third or fourth — to force teams to compete to avoid being at the bottom. That idea never got discussed in the board of directors meeting. “Now all of the sudden, if it’s close at the end, you’re going to see teams play as hard as they can because if they end up with the worst record, they don’t get the best pick,” Cuban said, explaining the logic of his idea.”You basically eliminate them from getting the best player. Everybody else would just be the way it is now. “Adam didn’t like that. That never got to the board of directors, but that one was my favorite. I brought up [the other proposal], but after that one got shot down, I didn’t bring up the other one. When I got no response on the one, I just dropped the other because it was obvious that what they had proposed was going to pass.”
Howard Beck: NBA adopts two measures to curb tanking: 1. Lottery reform 2. Rules on resting players Details:
Flattening the odds in the NBA’s draft lottery, a changed passed today by an overwhelming 28-1-1 vote of team owners, will not end tanking and may not reduce it much. The league knows that; they repeatedly characterized the proposal as “an incremental step” toward more potential tweaks, sources say. They are concerned about egregious tanking from teams that are already awful — the sort of tanking that generates think pieces and angry tweets.
Daryl Morey: @SamHinkie tanking is solved.
The National Basketball Association is aggressively pursuing draft lottery reform that could be voted into legislation before the start of the 2017-’18 season, league sources told ESPN. Commissioner Adam Silver is a strong advocate to de-incentivize tanking by implementing lower odds on the NBA’s worst teams to gain the top picks in the draft, league sources said.
The proposed measures would also increase the chances of better teams making a jump up into the draft lottery. The NBA’s 14 non-playoff team compromise the league’s annual draft lottery system. If passed, the lottery reform would be phased into use over time, and there’s no indication that the 2018 NBA Draft would fall under new legislation, league sources said.
Falling to eighth in the NBA Draft Lottery severely hurt the Knicks’ chances of getting either Kentucky guard. Fox is expected to be taken in the top five. Monk, projected to go sixth, also should be gone when the Knicks pick. “Hopefully,” he said inside the Vanderbilt YMCA Thursday.
A day after watching teams leapfrog his Phoenix Suns in the NBA Draft Lottery, general manager Ryan McDonough wasn’t feeling any worse for wear. He’s comfortable picking fourth in the June 22 draft. And after Phoenix rested veterans this past season to help its lottery odds, McDonough does have a critique for the current system. “I would like to see the odds be smoothed out a little bit,” he told Jon Bloom on Wednesday as a guest of the Suns postseason special show on 98.7 FM, Arizona’s Sports Station.
Ryan McDonough: “The more the league could add a little variance in there and de-incentivize losing, I think that would be good for the good of the league and I think it’d be a nice change going forward.”
Chris Dempsey: Connelly: “There will be a good young player at No. 13 to add to our young core.”
Serena Winters: Magic Johnson when asked about being excited to work out Lonzo Ball & Markelle Fultz at No. 2, also mentioned Josh Jackson (on @SpectrumSN)
Metta World Peace: Wow @lakers @magicjohnson has all the tools to build more Real Estate. Exciting for LA pic.twitter.com/lsdB2ETbNa
Paul Pierce may have finished his career with the Nets, Wizards, and Clippers, but he’ll always be a member of the Celtics. On Tuesday, the recently retired future Hall of Famer took to Twitter after the Celtics won the NBA draft lottery for the first time and earned the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.
Brian Robb: Danny Ainge: It was hard to hold onto the pick at the trade deadline. It was tempting.
Brian Robb: Ainge: “Isaiah can play with anyone. He’s a basketball player.”
Chris Forsberg: Danny Ainge on “beating Magic” in lotto: We didn’t beat Magic. It’s total luck. They’re picking pingpong balls. There’s no beating anybody.”
Brian Robb: The one (good) problem the Celtics have now after getting No. 1 pick tonight: Salary cap room gets a lot tighter this offseason for max FA.
Magic Johnson: Having a great time in NY with Rob at the NBA Draft lottery. Our 2nd pick will be a great start to rebuilding the @Los Angeles Lakers!
Jeanie Buss: So happy!!! Great news for #Lakers fans. The Magic is back! Have fun you guys tonight and see you back at the
Josh Robbins: Matt Lloyd on inviting prospects under consideration at No. 6 to Orlando: “We’re going to start our work tonight. I can tell you that much.”
Al Iannazzone: Phil on picking eighth: “We’ll get a talented young player, hopefully someone that can contribute this next year.”
Brian Windhorst: Re previous tweet, no one thinks anything nefarious with lottery. In general, league enjoys Lakers being down.
Ben Golliver: 2017 NBA Draft Lottery results: 1. Celtics 2. Lakers 3. Sixers (via Kings)
Chris Mannix: Leaving drawing room. Boston’s lottery number came up three straight times.
Gary Washburn: Wyc Grousbeck: “We got a lot offers in February and I’m glad we didn’t trade the pick. You can write that!” #Celtics
Mark Medina: On using No. 2 pick to draft player or trading it, Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka stressed importance of keeping long term future in mind
Bobby Marks: The LA Lakers just had a good night. Philadelphia will get LAL 2018 first unprotected Orlando will get LAL 2017 and 2018 2nd.
Tom Moore: Bryan Colangelo likes that #Sixers know they’ll get 2018 #Lakers pick and 2019 #Kings pick – both unprotected
Sean Cunningham: Philly has swapped, so Kings get the 5th pick, Philly into the top three.
Jason Jones: Moving to five means Tatum or Fox are definitely in play. This will be the highest the Kings have picked since 2010 (DeMarcus Cousins).
Manny Navarro: #Celtics win lottery. Lakers 2nd, Sixers 3rd, Suns 4th, Kings 5th, Magic 6th, T’Wolves 7th, Knicks 8th
September 18, 2018 | 10:54 pm EDT Update
JH: What does it mean to you when people say you are now “The best player in the East?” Giannis Antetokounmpo: There is going to be a lot of people out there that is going to say I am the best in the East and there is going to be some that says that I am not the best in the East, so my mindset is to keep working hard, focus on my game and to continue making my team better. We are trying to get as many wins as possible.
JH: With LeBron out of the East, has your mindset changed? What is your ultimate goal for next season? Giannis Antetokounmpo: The goal is still the same. Of course you have LeBron in the Western Conference. We still have great teams like Boston, Toronto, Philly, Indiana in the East. We just have to continue getting better every day as a team. We have a great team, we have a great coach, and hopefully we will have a great season and take another step forward this year.
JH: You are going to face an immense amount of pressure this season. You are already being a pegged as a favorite to win MVP. What have you been doing to improve your game this summer? Giannis Antetokounmpo: I’ve been working on a lot of shooting and a lot of post moves, been working on my handle and want to get better at finding the right people when I get double-teamed or sometimes triple-teamed. It is just about getting better as an overall basketball player.
To hear some insiders tell it, in Doncic, it is as if the Mavs have acquired a taller version of Jason Kidd, who led Dallas to a championship in 2011 and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame earlier this month. “Luka has been playing in the gym with the guys every day and he’s looked great,” forward Dirk Nowitzki said. “He’s a big body guard, he can move, he can shoot, he’s got unbelievable passing skills. “He’s got passes through the legs and behind the back in scrimmages already, so I think we’re going to have a lot of fun watching him over the years grow even more. He’s fun to watch.”
