2012 NBA Draft Lottery: Winners and Losers from the Event

The ping pong balls have fallen and the official 2012 NBA draft order is set. 

Not much changed in the beginning of the night's events. Starting with the Houston Rockets at No. 14 and running through the Sacramento Kings at No. 5, the process went according to form, much to the chagrin of quite a few teams. 

The only deviation from the order occurred when the New Orleans Hornets jumped up from No. 4 to No. 1, bumping each of the top three picks down a slot. 

With that in mind, who are the biggest winners and losers of the lottery? 

Winner: New Orleans Hornets

Monty Williams: "Wait. Hang on a second. Did we really just have something good happen to us?"

A lot of the winners and losers here are fairly self-evident, and none are more obvious than this one. 

The biggest prize in the 2012 NBA draft is clearly Anthony Davis, and by cashing in on their 13.7 percent chance of jumping up in the order, the New Orleans Hornets are now in position to make the unibrow one of their two lottery picks. 

This could be a franchise-defining moment for the team. 

Loser: Charlotte Bobcats

Michael Jordan: "You've got to be kidding me. Now how can I top my Kwame Brown pick?" 

After a historically awful season, you might think that futility would be rewarded with the No. 1 pick in the draft. Alas, karma works in mysterious ways. 

Now, the Charlotte Bobcats are moving down to No. 2 in the order and looking at a sizable downgrade in talent. They have gone from the only sure thing in the draft to a group of high-upside players who might not work out in the long term. 

The best options are taking Bradley Beal or Thomas Robinson, who don't necessarily fit in with the team needs, or drafting Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and failing to add another offensive option that the team so sorely needs. 

Could they think about trading down?

Winner: Anthony Davis

Anthony Davis: "Did you actually think I wanted to play in Charlotte? Seriously? Get a grip, man." 

Would you want to play on the Charlotte Bobcats? 

Now Anthony Davis will likely get to play alongside a stud in Eric Gordon (restricted free agent), make the transition to the NBA with a fellow lottery pick (whomever the Hornets draft at No. 10) and develop his game under a good head coach in Monty Williams. 

This is a much better situation for the unibrow. 

Loser: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist: "Guys, get those microphones out of my face. I don't want to talk about it." 

On the flip side of Anthony Davis' good luck is the misfortune suffered by former teammate Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. 

The Charlotte Bobcats, unless they decide to trade out of the pick, will likely select Kidd-Gilchrist at No. 2 and try to make him into their franchise player. 

However, MKG is not well-suited to being a team's primary offensive option and is much better served as a defensive stopper and transition threat. He would have enjoyed playing alongside either Kyrie Irving or John Wall instead of developing with Kemba Walker. 

Winner: Portland Trail Blazers

LaMarcus Aldridge: "Hear that, Bynum? Now we have two lottery picks who can help turn around our luck!" 

Everything has gone wrong for the Portland Trail Blazers ever since they drafted the injury-prone Greg Oden over three-time scoring champion Kevin Durant. 

In addition to whiffing with Oden, Brandon Roy was forced to retire early, Wesley Matthews didn't break out as expected—and that is just scratching the surface. 

However, last night the Blazers watched the Brooklyn Nets stay put at No. 6, effectively moving their pick out West. As a result, Portland gets to pick twice in the lottery and will add two young talents to its roster. 

Loser: Brooklyn Nets

Gerald Wallace: "Dude, I dunno if I want to stay anymore. Are we actually going to have anyone on our roster?" 

Kris Humphries: "Get over it man. At least you didn't have to get divorced."

The Brooklyn Nets were hoping to move up in the lottery. If they had received a top-three pick, they would have held on to it instead of handing it over to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for three months of pointless service from Gerald Wallace. 

Now, the Nets don't pick until No. 57 and will need to make a flurry of big moves in free agency to stay afloat. 

This isn't a good start to their stay in Brooklyn. 

Winner: Golden State Warriors

Joe Lacob: "See, I'm doing something right. Stop booing me."

The Golden State Warriors lucked into the No. 7 pick in the draft, which they should be able to use to select Harrison Barnes, a dynamic small forward and major upgrade over Dorell Wright. 

Had any of the seven teams picking behind them in the lottery moved up in the order, the Dubs would have been bumped down to eight and lost their pick to the Utah Jazz. 

Now, instead of waiting until No. 30 to make their first selection, the Warriors get to add an immediate impact player. 

Loser: Utah Jazz

Gordon Hayward: "I was already depressed enough after playing the Spurs..."

Al Jefferson: "At least you'll still look like our youngest player." 

The Utah Jazz aren't in terrible shape by any means, but they still missed out on an opportunity to have a top-10 pick in a very solid draft. 

This is still a playoff team, but they will have to get lucky with their No. 47 pick if they want to stay in the playoffs and avoid being overtaken by several up-and-comers in a loaded Western Conference. 

Winner: Conspiracy Theorists

Patrick Ewing: "I can't wait to be back in the news again. It was a frozen envelope, right?"

Michael Jordan: "*&^% this. I don't care what people think. I'm going to keep gambling." 

Need I say more?