NBA Lottery Odds 2012: Predicting How the Chips Will Likely Fall

NBA lottery teams are anxious to see their drafting order come Wednesday night, as their franchises' futures could well be within the fate of random ping-pong balls.

Will the horrendous Charlotte Bobcats get the No. 1 pick to land Anthony Davis? Or will the New Orleans Hornets and Portland Trail Blazers have a better shot with two lottery chances each?

Here are the odds of how the 2012 NBA Lottery will fall.

No. 14 Pick: Houston Rockets (98.2 Percent Chance)

The Houston Rockets are locked into the No. 14 pick, as they have a 98.2 percent chance of landing there.

Only the Phoenix Suns (1.8 percent chance) will challenge them for that pick.

With the No. 14 and 16 picks, look for the Rockets to use a pick on a big man like North Carolina's Tyler Zeller or Illinois' Meyers Leonard to replace former All-Star center Yao Ming. 

No. 13 Pick: Phoenix Suns (96 Percent Chance)

The Phoenix Suns will get the No. 13 pick in the NBA Lottery.

The Suns have a 96 percent chance of landing this pick, with only a 2.2 percent chance of landing a Top 3 pick.

With this selection, expect the Suns to go after a point guard of the future like North Carolina's Kendall Marshall or Weber State's Damian Lillard to replace the aging Steve Nash.

No. 12 Pick: Milwaukee Bucks (93.5 Percent Chance)

The Milwaukee Bucks will have most of their lottery balls on the No. 12 pick, and that's the pick they will land on.

If the Bucks aren't called for the No. 12 pick, they will have get a Top 3 pick. However, this is highly unlikely.

The Bucks traded Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson to the Golden State Warriors for forward Ekpe Udoh, center Kwame Brown and shooting guard Monta Ellis.

Milwaukee will probably go for a center (Tyler Zeller or Meyers Leonard) to replace Bogut.

No. 11 Pick: Portland Trail Blazers (90.8 Percent Chance)

The Portland Trail Blazers have two lottery picks, and expect them to land the No. 11 pick with the first one. 

Portland still lacks a center due to Greg Oden's injury problems and a shooting guard with Brandon Roy's retirement. Also, Raymond Felton has been a disaster as the Blazers' point guard.

The Blazers could use a center (North Carolina's Tyler Zeller), shooting guard (Duke's Austin Rivers) or point guard (North Carolina's Kendall Marshall) with their various roster holes.

No. 10 Pick: New Orleans Hornets (87 Percent Chance)

The New Orleans Hornets also have two lottery picks, and they should expect getting the No. 10 selection (87 percent chance).

The Hornets are rebuilding after trading Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers. They did get center Chris Kaman and shooting guard Eric Gordon in exchange, but don't expect Kaman to return.

New Orleans could use this pick to get a power forward (North Carolina's John Hanson), small forward (Baylor's Perry Jones III or North Carolina's Harrison Barnes) or a point guard (North Carolina's Kendall Marshall).

No. 9 Pick: Detroit Pistons (81.3 Percent Chance)

Still, don't expect any surprises in the NBA Lottery, as the Detroit Pistons will secure the No. 9 pick (81.3 percent chance).

The Pistons will probably look for an athletic power forward in the draft to play alongside All-Star caliber center Greg Monroe. Some possibilities include Baylor's Perry Jones III and Ohio State's Jared Sullinger.

No. 8 Pick: Utah Jazz Conveyed from Golden State Warriors (25.3 Percent Chance)

The first surprise of the NBA Lottery would be the No. 8 pick falling to the Utah Jazz.

The Jazz hold rights over the Golden State Warriors' first-round pick if it doesn't land in the Top 7.

Utah could use an athletic point guard or small forward. North Carolina's Kendall Marshall and Baylor's Perry Jones III would be attractive options for the Jazz.

Landing this pick would be a great break for the Jazz, who made the Western Conference playoffs despite not having much backcourt or small forward help.

No. 7 Pick: Portland Trail Blazers (29.4 Percent Chance)

The Portland Trail Blazers have a good shot of landing the No. 7 pick of the NBA draft (29.4 percent chance).

This slot or the No. 6 slot (41.4 percent chance) will be ideal for the Blazers, as the pick they hold from the Brooklyn Nets (for the Gerald Wallace trade) is Top 3 protected.

Brandon Roy's absence was immensely felt during last year's 28-38 season, so expect the Blazers to get Florida's Bradley Beal or UConn's Jeremy Lamb to fill that void.

No. 6 Pick: Sacramento Kings (38.5 Percent)

The Sacramento Kings will land the No. 6 pick of the NBA draft (38.5 percent chance).

That's a good place to be in, as the Kings could use a versatile small forward to bolster their team.

Tyreke Evans is more of a point guard or shooting guard than a small forward, so drafting someone like North Carolina's Harrison Barnes would put Evans at the off-guard position.

That would make the Kings a vastly better team.

Barnes has a great chance of falling to the No. 6 selection, as other teams are looking for big men early.

No. 5 Pick: New Orleans Hornets (32.3 Percent Chance)

Rebuilding is always a tough thing to do, but the New Orleans Hornets are on a good track after landing the No. 5 pick of the NBA draft.

Coupled with the No. 10 pick, the Hornets will look to build around shooting guard Eric Gordon.

With Chris Kaman coming off the books and not likely to be re-signed, looking for the Hornets to draft UConn's Andre Drummond. Drummond, Gordon and a likely point guard (North Carolina's Kendall Marshall or Weber State's Damian Lillard) would make the Hornets competitive.

No. 4 Pick: Cleveland Cavaliers (23.8 Percent Chance)

The Cleveland Cavaliers have NBA Rookie of the Year Kyrie Irving, and they will look to give him a solid backcourt mate with the No. 4 pick.

The Cavaliers will need to draft a shooting guard, and they will likely choose Florida's Bradley Beal or Duke's Austin Rivers.

Beal/Rivers with Irving would give the Cavaliers one of the most prolific backcourts in the NBA.

No. 3 Pick: Toronto Raptors (4.8 Percent Chance)

The Toronto Raptors will be the biggest winners in the NBA Lottery, jumping all the way to the No. 3 pick as the Utah Jazz claim the Golden State Warriors' No. 8 pick.

The Raptors are in dire need of athleticism and will look to getting drafting Kentucky small forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist or Florida's Bradley Beal (shifting DeMar DeRozan to the 3 position).

No. 2 Pick: Charlotte Bobcats (21.5 Percent Chance)

The Charlotte Bobcats will not get the No. 1 pick of the NBA draft, as the worst team has only won three times since 1985.

The Bobcats will lose out on Kentucky's Anthony Davis, but they could use a talented power forward in Kansas' Thomas Robinson.

At least Bobcats owner Michael Jordan won't be picking the next Kwame Brown or Adam Morrison.

No. 1 Pick: Washington Wizards (19.9 Percent Chance)

And Kentucky's Anthony Davis will go to the Washington Wizards.

The Wizards could use Davis' defensive intensity, something that lacked when Washington had JaVale McGee.

Davis, along with former Wildcat John Wall, would give Wizards fans something to cheer about.

Bob Bajek is an NBA/Chicago Bulls featured columnist. He is also a freelance reporter and can be followed on Patch.com and Twitter.