2012 NBA Lottery Results: Biggest Surprises and Disappointments

It's all over, folks!

Well, sort of.

The 2012 NBA draft order is officially set, so now the real work begins. But let's not move too fast. Let's digest everything that just transpired.

Before we take a look at who's going where, let's take a few moments to reflect on the biggest surprises and greatest disappointments of this year's NBA lottery.

Washington Wizards Drop to Third

Washington was lined up to grab the second overall pick, but dropped down to third.

Luckily for the Wizards, there are two players in Bradley Beal and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist with similar skill sets who would both be great fits alongside cornerstone John Wall.

That said, Kidd-Gilchrist is more explosive and a better finisher in transition, and thus the better running mate for Wall, even if only slightly.

Though there is still a chance that Kidd-Gilchrist is available when the Wizards are on the clock, falling just one spot in the order has taken the Wizards' luxury of being able to decide their own fate, or rather, Wall's future teammate.

Cleveland Cavaliers Fall out of Top Three

Though the Hornets statistically had a better chance at landing in the top three, we almost expected the Cavaliers to pull off another upset.

Nick Gilbert, the son of Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, helped Cleveland pull off the upset last year. He represented the team once again this year, and optimism ran rampant leading in.

However, the Cavaliers fell into line statistically.

And for some reason, that's extremely disappointing.

Golden State Warriors Don't Strike an Accord with Utah Jazz

The Warriors had a 72 percent chance of keeping their top seven protected pick, but after the pitiful season they had, it was somewhat surprising to see them leave it up to the laws of probability.

Golden State had been in discussion with Utah about securing said draft pick, but nothing ever came to fruition.

Luckily for the Warriors, though, everything worked out in their favor.

What a refreshing breath of fresh air for Golden State to inhale for a change.

Charlotte Bobcats Drop to Second in Draft Order

The Bobcats were bad this year. Historically, want-to-gouge-your-eyes-out-for-having-to-watch-them bad, in fact.

Absolutely nothing went their way this season, and that held true at the NBA draft lottery.

Charlotte had the best chance at landing the first overall pick, thus becoming the home of the phenom that is Anthony Davis.

But the ping-pong balls didn't churn the Bobcats' way. They dropped to second in the order and will now be forced to choose between either Bradley Beal or Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, two extremely talented players, but not the polarizing cornerstone Davis is.

Winning the lottery would have instilled a sense of hope within the Bobcats organization.

But instead, they're left wondering when things will actually begin to turn around, and we're left to watch a team that will now arguably be just as listless next season.

New Orleans Hornets Win the Lottery

Surprise!

The Hornets, who had a 14.8 percent chance of winning the No. 1 pick, did just that.

New Orleans now has the right—rather borderline duty—of drafting future All-Star Anthony Davis out of Kentucky first overall.

This is a victory that could not have come at a better time for the Hornets. Less than a year after losing Chris Paul to the Clippers and David West to the Pacers, they finally have cause to hope for a legitimate campaign next season.

Davis is without a doubt ready to make the jump to the NBA and brings a versatile and fairly polished skill set to a team in need of a superstar.

Paul was unable to instill championship hopes into the Hornets franchise. New Orleans is banking that Davis will not follow suit.

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