NBA Lottery 2012: Teams That Will Compete Next Season with a Little Luck

NBA teams have tanked all they can, but now their future lies solely in the hands of the dreaded draft lottery. 

Some teams will see all of their losing efforts go for naught, as the lottery will surely make them pay, but other teams will luck into a star they thought they had no chance of getting.

Here's a look at teams who, with a little bit of luck on May 30, will come nowhere near the lottery for the 2013 NBA draft.

In case you were wondering, you can find the entire list of odds here.

Houston Rockets

Here we are, nearing the second round of the playoffs and I'm still not exactly sure how the Rockets failed to make the postseason.

This is a team that has two legitimate, potential All-Star point guards in Kyle Lowry and Goran Dragic. Dragic is set to hit free agency, but the Rockets should find a way to re-sign him because he and Lowry can co-exist in the same backcourt.

They have a dynamic scorer in Kevin Martin. He had an incredibly down year, but if he comes back healthy then he's a huge piece.

Lastly, the Rockets have an underrated big man in Luis Scola and a young budding star in Chandler Parsons.

If they luck out and move up a few picks to grab a true center in Tyler Zeller (Rockets projected: 14. Zeller projected: 12), the playoffs will be a lock. 

Believe me when I say Samuel Dalembert won't do for the entire season. Zeller is ready to contribute right away and would be a solid piece. 

Toronto Raptors

The Raptors might need more luck staying healthy than they do in the lottery. If Jose Calderon, the truest of true point guards, and Andrea Bargnani, a walking matchup nightmare for opposing centers, manage to stay healthy then the Raptors have a good core.

Throw in elite scorers Jerryd Bayless and DeMar DeRozan, and the Raps appear to be one piece away from being a really good team. That piece, to me, looks like Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Raptors projected: 8. Kidd-Gilchrist projected: 4).

Granted, the Raptors moving to No. 4 and Kidd-Gilchrist dropping to No. 4 are, in my opinion, a long shot, but hey, this is a piece about luck. If Toronto somehow landed the Kentucky star, they would instantly be the winners of the draft.

He fits a position of need and gives the Raps an elite defensive presence who can guard multiple positions. 

Portland Trail Blazers

As long as the Nets, who are projected to get the sixth pick, don't jump into the Top 3, the Blazers will get New Jersey's pick. That would give Portland two lottery picks.

This is a team that already has young, up-coming stars Nicolas Batum and Wesley Matthews to go along with perennial All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge. 

As long as they luck out and are able to keep both lottery picks, the Trail Blazers will easily return to the playoffs in 2013.

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