Sign up or login to track your favorite teams

Sign Up for Bleacher Report

As a registered user you can subscribe to your favorite teams, post comments, write your own articles, and much more.

You must register in order for that functionality to work!







Validating sign up form ...

Bleacher Report articles are written by fans like you

Do you want to cover your favorite sports, teams, and leagues?

Processing writing preferences ...

Great, , you're signed up!

i.e. Big 10, LeBron James, USC Football

Selected Tags:

Logging in ...

Tuesday night, prior to Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals, is the NBA Draft Lottery. The Lottery represents the most important night of the playoffs for almost half of teams in the ...

2008 NBA Draft: Which Team Most Needs the Lottery Win?

by Andrew Kaufman (Columnist)

12

5,313 reads

Rankings/List

May 18, 2008


Tuesday night, prior to Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals, is the NBA Draft Lottery.

 

The Lottery represents the most important night of the playoffs for almost half of teams in the NBA, as with one bounce of a ping-pong ball, a team’s fortunes can be changed forever.

 

But whose fortunes need changing the most? For some teams, drafting Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley is their sole hope for success in the near future. But for others, such a move would merely add another piece to an already stable nucleus.

 

This year is a particularly interesting one, as many of the teams who actually need a star such as Rose or Beasley have little to no chance of actually landing one of them.

 

Below, I have ranked the lottery teams in order of how important winning the lottery is to the club’s future.

 

 

14. Portland Trail Blazers (0.6 percent chance of winning the lottery).

By far, this is the lottery team that is most set for the future. In Brandon Roy, Greg Oden, and LaMarcus Aldridge, the Blazers already have a nucleus that will be in place for years to come, complete with two potential franchise players. 

 

Roy is already a star, and if Oden recovers from knee surgery there’s no reason to believe he won’t be too. Sure, adding a true point guard such as Rose would be a boon for the franchise, but it is by no means a do-or-die proposition. The Blazers won their lottery last year; landing Rose would just be icing on the cake.

 

13. Chicago Bulls (1.7)

While the Bulls are nowhere near as set for the future as the Blazers are, they still have a pretty large core of young scorers to build around. In Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, and Kirk Hinrich, Chicago has more young talent than any lottery team other than Portland.

 

Track this Article on My B/R
Flag This Article
Share This Article

12 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment

  1. Michael Whittenberg about 1 year ago

    Good article, you're right about the Kings.

    They have Kevin Martin, but he isn't a player to build around. Really, I would love to see Indiana win the lottery.

    Derrick Rose would be a good fit for this team since Jamaal Tinsley can never stay healthy.

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

  2. Mike about 1 year ago

    I feel you're way off about the Kings having the worst future outlook in the entire NBA.

    Yes, the Kings have no single person to build around. But that's true of a lot of teams. Also, this is a young club who had a decent record in the West. They would have easily made the playoffs in the East.

    I do agree the Kings would benefit most by winning the lottery--but only in the sense that they are weak at the 4 and the 1. Beasley or Rose would make them contenders within a year or two.

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

    • Andrew Kaufman about 1 year ago

      That's fair. You are certainly entitled to your opinion, and it's a very difficult question to answer.

      However, I don't think the current Kings really have any pieces in place (besides maybe Kevin Martin, but can have success on a team where he is the #3 option?) to be a legitimate contender down the road.

      Sure, they have a better chance to hang around the playoff chase, maybe snag an 8 seed one of the next few years, but that isn't really what franchises should be aiming for.

      Also, as you said, they do play in the West, which was a big factor in my decision. The balance of power isn't going to shift anytime soon.

      Edit Comment Cancel

      Reply
      Great Comment (
      0
      )

  3. Michael G Burke about 1 year ago

    I want icing on the cake! :)

    We need a PG bad!

    GO BLAZERS!!

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

  4. Arie Coleman about 1 year ago

    I think the Pacers and the Nets need it more than the Kings. They don't have any future whatsoever. The Kings do...they have pretty good potential with their young players...except K-Mart...he can't do anything except shoot.

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

  5. Sten about 1 year ago

    nets do need some new players, and good place on draftlist would be good, but carter and jefferson are still very very good duo, carter isnt giving up nor has he stopped trying, lsat season he had injury problems, at the beginning of the season he had thumb problems and then he twisted his ankle against boston. when his ankle got better he averaged like 32 points in 10 games, and now he had surgery on his ankle, his ankle is expected to be in good shape next season and quite surely he will be back to 26 points per game and not just with his jump shots, hes going to attack the rim, and jefferson isnt just a shell, come on, his ppg was good last season, over 20, nets will make playoffs next season, doesent really matter how good player they get from draft, but good player would help them, that sure

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

  6. Aron Glatzer about 1 year ago

    Pietrus is gone from the Warriors. Azubuike has become the better swingman off the bench. Gotta lock up Monta and Andris, those are the cornerstones of the franchise for the next 10 years.

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

  7. Derek Peiffer about 1 year ago

    Good article. You're dead on with the Kings. They need it the most. I agree with the list for the most part. Maybe drop someone one spot down or one up. Nothing big, I would put Indiana and New York above New Jersey. Good list and article. Good read.

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

  8. David Cohen about 1 year ago

    the kings are a decent team; they''re not the worst on this list by any stretch. if they were in the east they'd be the Sixers. its the Knicks. and even if it isn't, Isiah's gone, reputable GM in place, big name head coach whose style had the league captivated in Phoenix, which means all the pieces are in place for Stern to fix up the lottery. And knowing the Knicks, they'd take OJ.

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

  9. Mark Arbonies about 1 year ago

    As much as I love the Knicks, there will be plenty more lottery chances in their future. They need to get all those terrible contracts off their books first. That way, they'll have space to resign their up and comers, sign legitimate good players that hit the market or make a deal for a true star. It's not just the money, because Dolan has plenty, it's the roster space and the playing time.

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

Leave a Comment

  • You must register to post a comment.

    • Want to write for Bleacher Report

    We are a community of fans who write about sports. And we're growing.

    Learn More and Sign Up »

    Certain photos copyright © 2009 by Getty Images.
    Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Getty Images is strictly prohibited.