2012 NBA Lottery Results: Teams That Will Surprise Us with Their Pick
The NBA Draft Lottery is over, and someone in Vegas just got rich.
With the odds taking an odd twist once again, the New Orleans Hornets beat out the NBA-worst Charlotte Bobcats to win the top pick in the June 28 draft, with Charlotte finishing with the second overall pick.
That said, it seems pretty clear where Anthony Davis and Thomas Robinson are going.
What about the rest of the lottery picks?
Keep in mind, the Hornets will also have the No. 10 pick and the Portland Trail Blazers will have the No. 6 and No. 11 selections.
Given some of the general managers involved, we could be in for a few surprises come draft night.
Here are some squads that are sure to make some eye-popping picks.
Washington Wizards
1 of 5Though they were expected to finish lottery night with the second pick, fate had other ideas as the Wizards were awarded the third.
That said, the team is in quite a pickle as their biggest need is at power forward. The two best at that position will probably be gone when they need to make their selection.
Thus, just what will team owner Ted Leonsis and his front office team decide to do with their pick?
Will they gamble on another power forward, like Perry Jones III or Jared Sullinger, or will they make a trade?
Either way, Washington's draft strategy needs to be reassessed ASAP.
Sacramento Kings
2 of 5The Kings have a young starting lineup with tremendous upside, so their pick will most likely be someone who can add some bench depth.
There are a multitude of names you can put next to this team come draft night, but we won't know until their turn comes around.
No matter how you look at it, they'll make a pick that makes everyone go "Ohhhhhh....interesting!"
Milwaukee Bucks
3 of 5The Milwaukee Bucks need to take one of two approaches at the draft this year.
They need to either pick an NBA-ready point guard, in case Brandon Jennings leaves via free agency, or they need to draft a power forward in case Ersan Ilyasova does the same.
By the time their turn comes around, two great options in either department should still be available.
General manager John Hammond needs to decide if he wants an offensive or defensive team first.
Portland Trail Blazers
4 of 5Keep in mind, this is the team that took a huge injury risk in Greg Oden with the first overall pick in 2007, when NBA-ready forward and great leader Kevin Durant was available.
Call me crazy, but with two picks in the lottery, there's always the possibility that Portland will take a shot in the dark once again.
Cleveland Cavaliers
5 of 5Dan Gilbert surprised everyone at last year's draft, and something tells me it will happen again in 2012.
After taking Duke point guard Kyrie Irving with the first overall pick, Cleveland was on the clock again with the fourth pick. Rather than take a surefire A-lister like Klay Thompson or one of the Morris twins, they selected Tristan Thompson out of Texas.
Given how most didn't have Thompson being picked until the middle of the first round, it's safe to say that fans weren't expecting this curveball.
With the team needing help at a few positions, trying to predict who they'll take is a complete roll of the dice.
