NBA Draft Lottery 2012: Top 10 Teams That Must Select Well

Wednesday night before the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics lock up for their Game 2 battle on ESPN, the NBA will hold its annual Draft Lottery show to determine who will draft where in the upcoming NBA Draft, slated to take place on June 28.

The heavy favorite to earn the No. 1 pick of this year's draft are the Charlotte Bobcats. Complete with a 7-59 record and the worst winning-percentage in NBA history for one season, Michael Jordan's club has a lot riding on this draft. 

However, Charlotte is not the only team with a lot at stake this year. 

With a loaded draft class, there are a number of valuable options at any position in the draft order. Value and talent are ready to be had by all selecting in this draft.

Even though that may be true, there is still pressure on a number of teams to pick the right player in hopes of garnering more victories than last season.

Here are the 10 teams that need to draft well or risk ending up back in the lottery again next year.

Portland Trail Blazers

For the Portland Trial Blazers, this draft is set around trying to replace the recently retired Brandon Roy. 

Roy was arguably Portland's best player for much of his career. Combining his toughness and scoring ability with LaMarcus Aldridge's ever growing skill set, the Blazers thought they had it made. 

Unfortunately, Roy suffered from chronic knees problems, causing him to miss multiple games at a time. In a surprise move this last offseason, rather than try to rehab for a shortened NBA season, Roy looked at his options and felt walking away from the game before he could no longer walk was the best option.

Throughout the year, Portland used multiple different players at the two-guard, hoping for find a replacement for him. The team brought in Jamal Crawford and already had Wesley Matthews, but despite both having potential for great seasons, neither could fully fill the void left by Roy.

Having Aldridge as a staple for the franchise is crucial for the Blazers at this point in time, as he will be the anchor to this young, growing team. Right now, Portland may be content with going with a Crawford, Matthews, Gerald Wallace and Nicolas Batum rotation at the two and three spots.

Also to consider, Raymond Felton will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, opening up a potential hole to fill as well.

Portland has pressure to succeed in this draft because only a few short years ago, the Blazers were one of the up-and-coming teams in the NBA. After a disappointing season, Portland still has loads of talent on the roster. 

Now, it's just a matter of selecting the right rookie, perhaps a combo guard such as Bradley Beal out of Florida, to help get them back on the right path.

Toronto Raptors

It's been awhile since the Toronto Raptors have been relevant in the NBA playoff talks. In fact, the most publicized move the Raptors have made in the last few years is losing Chris Bosh to the Miami Heat through free agency.

This season, Toronto is once again in the lottery, having taken Andrea Bargnani, Demar DeRozan, James Johnson and Ed Davis over the past number of drafts. 

Bargnani, Toronto's best overall player, had his fair share of injuries this past season, playing in, and starting, only 31 games. Bargnani is a big with a nice outside shot that gives physical defenders fits at times. However, he is also known for disappearing for games at a time.

Jose Calderon is by far and away the most consistent player on the Raptors roster. A solid 10 points and eight assists per game are Calderon's bread and butter.

Beyond those two, no player is consistent enough to make the Raptors a threat in the Eastern Conference.

Knowing their lack of success in previous drafts, the Raptors must gain a big-time player to help their cause before they are a lost cause for years to come.

Golden State Warriors

In regard of young talent, the Golden State Warriors are right up there in terms of best in the league. 

Golden State has some very talented players, headlined by David Lee, Stephen Curry and Nate Robinson. Curry, however, missed most of the season with ankle issues, causing the Warriors to flounder most of the season and leading to a disappointing 23-43 record in a Pacific division that saw both the LA Lakers and Clippers make the playoffs. 

Now that Monta Ellis has been traded to Milwaukee, Curry is the leading man in the backcourt for the Warriors. Unfortunately, it is hard to assert your leadership and skill-set when you miss most of the season. Much of the Warriors' issues can be written off to more than just Curry's absence, but there is no denying how much Golden State missed his production.

On paper, and when healthy, Golden State has a fairly talented roster. Not only with the players already mentioned, but when you add in players such as Richard Jefferson, Andrew Bogut and Dorell Wright, the Warriors have the makings of a potential threat in the Western Conference.

With that being said, there is always room for improvement, something Golden State is always looking to do.

Adding another scoring threat is probably the first key to this year's draft, and adding someone such as Jeremy Lamb, a solid combo-guard, will contribute to Curry's versatility and add to an already talented Warriors roster.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Fresh off a successful draft last year in taking 2012 Rookie of the Year Kyrie Irving with the first pick, the Cleveland Cavaliers still have much work to do as they head into the third season of the post-LeBron era.

With the quick emergence of Irving, Cleveland felt Ramon Sessions was expendable, and thus, he was let go to the Los Angeles Lakers. Irving averaged 18 points per game in his first full season and distributed five assists per contest, leading to one of the best rookie seasons, statistically speaking, in NBA history.

Beyond Irving, though, there are still many questions surrounding the Cavaliers. 

Antawn Jamison is getting up in age, and while still effective on the court, he has to be questioning how much longer he can be relied upon as a go-to guy. Anderson Varejao works as hard as any forward in the league, yet he is also not a viable center option as the Cavaliers like to use him. Tristan Thompson is still young and mastering his craft, so giving him another year to mature will hopefully pay off for the Cavs in the near future.

Having all of these front line issues, Cleveland, once again, has two first-round selections in this year's draft. It is a safe bet that they will use one, if not both, of their first-round picks on a center or power forward. 

Cleveland struck gold each of the last two times they had the No. 1 overall selection. Maybe the basketball gods will give them another chance at hitting the jackpot.

Sacramento Kings

Ah, the curious case of the Sacramento Kings.

Up and down this roster is a list of players with enormous talent and potential. Former Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans is flanked by a talented group of players that includes the powerful DeMarcus Cousins, Marcus Thornton, Terrence Williams, Jimmer Fredette and the emerging Isaiah Thomas.

Overall, the talent is there; it's just the wins that haven't come along with it.

This year, Sacramento has a number of options in where to go with its selection. Most notably speaking, the Kings could go after a small forward or even a forward to shore up their front line. 

Their backcourt is set for a while, now it's just a matter of making the rest of the team formidable enough to make a legitimate run at a postseason birth.

Detroit Pistons

Another team with something to look forward to in the future of the franchise is the Detroit Pistons.

Since the end of the championship-contending days of Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace, Detroit has struggled to find its identity as a team. The Pistons are no longer a feared group of brawlers, nor are they a roster full of savvy vets; they are young and inexperienced but also talented. 

Tayshaun Prince and Ben Wallace are still around from the glory days of roughly seven years ago where championships were still in sight. Except it is the rest of the roster around them that has changed. 

Greg Monroe, Rodney Stuckey and Brandon Knight are all coming into their own as players, producing at a high level quickly and effectively. Detroit has a lot to look forward to with this core group of players, but there is always room for improvement.

The Pistons could use a solid power forward option with versatility, such as a Perry Jones III, to solidify their front line to go along with their guard play.

New Orleans Hornets

New Orleans had, to say the least, an interesting season.

First, they finally traded away franchise player Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for a number of talented players, including Eric Gordon and Chris Kaman.

However, Gordon only managed to play in nine games this season due to injury. In fact, the only players on the Hornets roster who played consistently through the season were Marco Belinelli and Greivis Vasquez. Every other player missed a substantial number of games.

Going 21-45 in a shortened season with an entirely new roster is nothing to be ashamed of, but it does not mean the Hornets won't be looking to improve their team.

Likely options for the Hornets to help shore up their roster are players such as Thomas Robinson and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. In this year's draft, needs can be met quickly by also selecting the best available player on the board, leaving New Orleans with a number of options.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Minnesota is finally excited about its professional basketball team again. 

For the first time since the departure of Kevin Garnett, the Timberwolves are the talk of of the town as Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio have brought energy and excitement back to Minnesota basketball.

That was, however, until Kobe Bryant ended any hope of a Wolves playoff birth when he collided with Rubio, causing him to tear his ACL.

Overall, the Wolves have a roster loaded with young talent. It's just a matter of putting all the pieces together and converting that talent into wins.

With all the talent Minnesota has, it must be very careful with its selection as whomever it takes must mold well with the current product it is putting onto the court.

Realistically speaking, Minnesota doesn't need too much help. The Timberwolves have the talent they need; it's just the waiting game to see where they go from here. 

Minnesota must tread lightly with its pick because choosing the wrong guy could be disastrous to team morale.

Washington Wizards

Washington's backcourt is young and talented. 

John Wall and Jordan Crawford were electric in the 2011-12 campaign. It was just the rest of the roster that was less than remarkable.

Basically, Washington is still in revamp mode as the Wizards need to improve, well, everywhere.

Specifically speaking, the Wizards need help up front. Andray Blatche has been an emerging star for a number of years but has yet to break through, bringing some concern to an organization that doesn't have a lot of time to waste waiting for him to blossom.

They got sick of waiting for JaVale McGee to blossom, and it's only a matter of time until they call it quits with the Blatche project as well.

Depending upon where the Wizards wind up in the draft, selecting a power forward or a center is a top priority for a team trying to build around its former first overall pick, Wall.

Charlotte Bobcats

Oh, where to even begin with the Charlotte Bobcats?

First of all, if they don't receive the first overall selection, they really should file a grievance with the NBA over unfair treatment and collusion.

Obviously, the Bobcats would love to have Anthony Davis fall into their laps. Davis is the type of player Charlotte needs in order to restore some semblance of respect from their opponents as his length and agility causes fits for all post players alike.

Drafting Kemba Walker last season was a good start, but now the Bobcats need to continue to grow, and it all starts with finding out where they will draft in June.

For their sake, and the sake of the teams on their schedule, hopefully they gain that first pick and are able to get Davis. If not, they could be in for another long, agonizing season.