Ranking Each Team's Representative at NBA Lottery

The NBA will hold its 2013 draft lottery on Tuesday evening at 8 p.m. ET, each team with the chance to send a person or two to represent them in their quest to revamp their teams.

The Orlando Magic have the best chance at landing the top overall pick, giving them the opportunity to pick up Nerlens Noel, Ben McLemore, Otto Porter or whomever else they deem to be the best player in the draft.

After that come the Charlotte Bobcats, Cleveland Cavaliers and Phoenix Suns, with a big drop-off happening after the top four selections.

Teams will each send somebody to represent them as they prepare for the future, and the representatives generally do absolutely nothing.

In the past we've seen owners, general managers, former players, owners' sons and guys currently on teams' rosters come out and stand behind a podium.

Essentially, a team's representative means absolutely nothing other than putting a face on the franchise, so let's take a look at the teams that are sending the best faces.

14. Charlotte Bobcats: Fred Whitfield

Lottery Odds: 19.9 percent

The Charlotte Bobcats had the best odds at landing the No. 1 pick in the lottery a season ago, and now they're right back near the top, saddled with the second-best odds this time around.

Charlotte desperately needs some luck to fall their way in order to bring this team any kind of success, so it seems as if their representative should be a look at the future of this team, not the past.

Last year they sent Rich Cho, the team's general manager, to represent the team, and everybody yawned.

This year it's another yawner as Fred Whitfield, the team's president and CEO, is representing the team at the lottery.

Suggested Representative: Hugo the Hornet

The Bobcats will become the Hornets presumably following next season with the official announcement coming on Tuesday.

Why not go all out and have one of the most recognizable mascots in all of sports represent the team at the evening's draft lottery?

Will Rufus, the team's current mascot, get jealous? Probably, but Rufus is the past, Hugo is the future.

13. Utah Jazz: Randy Rigby

Lottery Odds: 0.5 percent 

The Utah Jazz seem to want to perpetuate the notion that they're a boring basketball team in a boring state, so they're sending a boring white dude to represent them at the draft lottery.

"

Jazz president Randy Rigby says he is a pretty lucky guy in general. Jazz hope so. He'll represent the 14th-slotted Jazz in Tues. lottery

"

"— Bill Oram (@tribjazz) May 20, 2013"

I'm sure Rigby is a fine fellow, but the fact that I've really never heard of the man even though he's the team's president says something about him.

Suggested Representative: John Stockton and Karl Malone

There are a few other teams sending duos to represent them at the lottery, so why shouldn't the Utah Jazz do the same?

Rather than sending a front office man (which is boring in general), just have Mr. Rigby tag along and sit in the audience while the team's most famous duo stand at the podium and hope for a brighter future.

12. Phoenix Suns: Lon Babby

Lottery Odds: 11.9 percent

Lon Babby will represent the Phoenix Suns in the first real offseason of their rebuilding phase.

A year after sending former center Mark West to be their representative, Phoenix is taking a step backward and sending out a guy whom nobody ever sees.

"

#Suns president of basketball operations Lon Babby will be the team representative at Tuesday's draft lottery. Suns have 11.9% chance at #1.

"

"— Paul Coro (@paulcoro) May 16, 2013"

With a pretty good shot at winning the thing, why not send somebody the fans would actually respond to?

Suggested Representative: Charles Barkley

After sending a player a season ago, it seems like the natural thing to do would be to continue the trend and go with another former player.

If they were to do that, then there's really no option besides Charles Barkley.

Unfortunately, old Chuck is going to be busy covering the first game of the Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday night.

11. Philadelphia 76ers: Adam Aron and Josh Harris

Lottery Odds: 0.8 percent

The Philadelphia 76ers will be represented by Adam Aron and Joshua Harris, the team's majority shareholders and de facto owners.

It's definitely a way to go, as it seems to be the default to send the guy footing the bill for the soon-to-be draftee, but it gets a bit old seeing owners standing at podiums.

Aron and Harris bought the team back in 2011, so they're still very gung ho about putting themselves out there, but it seems like the time to start fading into the owner's box.

Suggested Representative: Allen Iverson

The dude wants to do something, anything, for the franchise at this point, so why not make him the go-to guy whenever something like this comes up?

He can be the team's real-life mascot, going out and shaking hands with fans, being spotted at games and just making appearances on behalf of the team.

Besides, who wouldn't want to see AI standing between Hugo the Hornet and Dan Gilbert's kid?

10. Dallas Mavericks: Donnie Nelson and Keith Grant

Lottery Odds: 0.9 percent

In their first lottery appearance since the 2000 offseason, the Dallas Mavericks will send their president of basketball operations and their assistant general manager, Donnie Nelson and Keith Grant.

Before you get excited, no, it's not the former Mavericks head coach, it's the uncomfortable dude in the picture.

Mark Cuban represented the team back in 2000 when the team was unable to move up at all and ended up selecting Etan Thomas with the 12th overall pick.

He's not the luckiest guy, it seems.

Suggested Representative: Jim Carrey disguised as Rick Carlisle

The draft lottery can be a horribly boring affair that the league tries to stretch out in order to fill a television time slot, so why not shake things up a bit?

Announce that Rick Carlisle is representing the team at the lottery, but instead get Jim Carrey to show up and parody Carlisle's mannerisms.

The two are basically mirror images of each other, so it wouldn't be that difficult to pull off.

9. Toronto Raptors: Dwane Casey

Lottery Odds: 0.7 percent

The Oklahoma City Thunder have yet to name a representative for this year's draft lottery, but they've got a wide range of options to choose from.

Oklahoma City landed a lottery pick after grabbing the Toronto Raptors' pick in the James Harden trade last October.

For the time being it seems they'll hold onto the pick, but it's definitely possible that they end up trading it away if the right deal pops up.

Suggested Representative: Russell Westbrook

He missed out on the majority of the playoffs after tearing his right meniscus, so why not give him a chance to represent the team on Tuesday?

Even better, the Thunder aren't in the lottery because of some kind of failure, so it's more of a celebration than a consolation for them.

Sending a player to represent the team wouldn't be showing off the future of the team, it's showing off what they have right now.

8. Sacramento Kings: Keith Smart

Lottery Odds: 6.3 percent

Good on the Sacramento Kings for sending somebody to the lottery who doesn't have the last name "Maloof."

The entire city, the NBA and the rest of the world is tired of seeing that family run the team into the ground, so sending Keith Smart, the team's head coach, is a solid move.

Last year they sent Adrienne Maloof, and while she is the least repugnant of the bunch, she's still got the stench of that last name on her.

Suggested Representative: Kevin Johnson

Mayor Kevin Johnson is a huge part of the team that kept the Kings in Sacramento, so seeing him at the draft lottery would be a final victory cry for the city and potentially an amazing good-luck charm.

Johnson, the former Phoenix Suns point guard, represented the team back in 2011 when they had an 8.8 percent chance of winning the thing. They ended up getting leap-frogged by two teams and eventually traded down to draft Jimmer Fredette.

7. New Orleans Pelicans: Monty Williams

Lottery Odds: 8.8 percent

For the first time in the history of the NBA, the New Orleans Pelicans will be present at an NBA event, represented by the team's head coach, Monty Williams.

Williams represented the team in 2012 as well, from which they walked away with the top overall selection, landing them Anthony Davis in the following month.

The Hornets are well on their way to rebuilding, but another solid draft lottery could put them over the top.

Suggested Representative: Anthony Davis and Monty Williams

When you're on a hot streak, you can't just walk away from the table. And as far as draft lotteries are concerned, one win is a hot streak.

Bringing Williams back is a great idea, but why not add Anthony Davis to the bill?

There are already a handful of rookies from the 2012 draft on tap to represent their teams at the lottery, so it makes sense to send Davis as well.

6. Minnesota Timberwolves: Kevin Love

Lottery Odds: 1.7 percent

There's no doubt that I would rather have a team send a player to represent them over an executive, but there's something about the Timberwolves sending Kevin Love that I don't like.

"

#Twolves @kevinlove to represent team at 2013 NBA Draft Lottery on May 21. Wolves currently slotted to pick 9th, have 1.7% change to get #1.

"

"— Timberwolves PR (@Twolves_PR) May 16, 2013"

It's another reminder to the disgruntled All-Star forward that the team is struggling to make progress, and their status as lottery-dwelling losers remains in tact.

Suggested Representative: Flip Saunders

Yea, I know I just advocated for players over executives, but this is a special occasion.

The Timberwolves finally fired David Kahn!

Kahn has been the guy completely screwing up every Timberwolves season since 2009, so showing that he's not there any more would be a solid move.

Send Kahn's replacement, Flip Saunders, and parade him around for hours. 

5. Washington Wizards: Bradley Beal

Lottery Odds: 3.5 percent

After landing the third pick in the draft a season ago, the Washington Wizards are sending that third pick to the lottery with the hopes that he'll bring the team some luck.

Bradley Beal will represent Washington on Tuesday as the Wizards boast meager odds of winning.

"

Where were you? RT @monumentalntwrk: BREAKING: Bradley Beal will represent the #Wizards at the NBA Draft Lottery. bit.ly/19uzvoa

"

"— Kelly Dwyer (@KDonhoops) May 15, 2013"

I love when teams send players who are a huge part of the rebuilding phase to the lottery. It shows their progress, along with the stock they're putting into the young players.

Suggested Representative: John Wall and Bradley Beal

It seems as if Beal makes sense, but sending him without Wall is shortsighted.

The two are the duo that make up the future of the Washington Wizards, and Tuesday marks the start of their quest to get the team back to respectability.

They should be marketed as a tandem ready to form a trio with whomever they may draft this summer.

4. Detroit Pistons: Andre Drummond

Lottery Odds: 3.6 percent

Andre Drummond, the breakout pick by the Detroit Pistons from last summer, will represent his team on Tuesday as they hope to get lucky in their quest for a high draft pick.

Drummond, on his own, represents the slight change of luck that Detroit experienced last season. The team took a risk drafting him seventh overall, and he ended up being an excellent selection.

Tossing Drummond in front of Detroit's logo sends an excellent message to the young man who seems incredibly dedicated to his ailing team.

Suggested Representative: Ben Wallace and Andre Drummond

I seem to be on a bit of a pairing kick at this point, but this is one of my favorites so far.

Give the people a glimpse of the future, all while reminding them of the storied past this franchise has.

Not only that, but also emphasize the importance of big men, giving Drummond and teammate Greg Monroe something to take pride in.

3. Portland Trail Blazers: Neil Olshey and Damian Lillard

Lottery Odds: 1.1 percent

Rookie of the Year Damian Lillard, along with general manager Neil Olshey, will represent the Portland Trail Blazers at the lottery.

"

GM Neil Olshey & PG @dame_lillard will represent the @pdxtrailblazers at the 2013 #NBA Draft Lottery on May 21 in Secaucus, New Jersey.

"

"— Trail Blazers PR (@TrailBlazersPR) May 10, 2013"

Portland is sending an interesting duo, giving Lillard the stage along with the guy who drafted him, which is a pretty solid choice overall.

Suggested Representative: Bill Walton

I'll be honest with you. If there's a possibility that Bill Walton could be doing commentary, for a game I'll watch the entire thing just to hear his buttery voice.

That being said, it seems as if the Trail Blazers are missing a perfect opportunity to bring out the most important player from their lone championship season.

Give Walton the podium, let him ramble on for a few minutes and revel in the fact that you've got a 1.1 percent chance of landing the top pick.

2. Cleveland Cavaliers: Nick Gilbert

Lottery Odds: 15.6 percent

Nick Gilbert has represented the Cleveland Cavaliers in every draft lottery since his dad, Dan Gilbert, bought the team.

"

Nick Gilbert will represent #Cavs on stage at the lottery for the 3rd straight year. Why not? Kid is batting .500. No word on bow tie

"

"— M.S. Boyer/J. Valade (@PDcavsinsider) May 16, 2013"

In case you missed the past two seasons, Nick is the 16-year-old son of the Cavaliers owner who uses the lottery as an opportunity to raise awareness of neurofibromatosis, which he suffers from.

He was there when they won back in 2011 and were able to draft Kyrie Irving, and he was there last season when they fell just short.

Suggested Representative: Nick Gilbert

The Cavs nailed this one right on the head. Why mess with a good thing?

1. Orlando Magic: Pat Williams

Lottery Odds: 25 percent

Pat Williams is a senior vice president of the Orlando Magic, was a minor league baseball player in his youth and is the guy who is going to represent them at the draft lottery on Tuesday.

But you all thought I was down on the idea of executives representing teams at the lottery.

Well, generally I am, but there are definitely extenuating circumstances.

Pat Williams was there when the Magic won the lottery back in 1992 and won the chance to draft Shaquille O'Neal, and then again in 1993 when they got the right to draft Penny Hardaway.

Oh, and he was there again in 2004 when the Magic won the lottery for the third time in just over a decade, giving them the ability to draft Dwight Howard.

Call him a good-luck charm, or whatever you damn well want, but he's got a track record that speaks for itself.

Suggested Representative: Pat Williams

They would be insane to go with anybody else.