2012 NBA Draft Order: Biggest Losers from Lottery
Like the witch-woman from Game of Thrones, the NBA Draft lottery cannot and does not give life to one team without taking it from another.
But while the New Orleans Hornets, Washington Wizards and Portland Trail Blazers still have about as much of a chance of competing for a championship as does the sun of rising in the west and setting in the east, the cruel bounce of ping pong balls particularly screwed these three teams.
Though not as badly as a dead dragon pushed out of the Khaleesi's belly.
Charlotte Bobcats
Speaking of dead dragons (but not really), the Bobcats' 23-game losing streak appears to have carried over into the offseason, at least if Wednesday's lottery results are any indication.
Suffering through the worst campaign, in terms of winning percentage, in NBA history wasn't enough for Charlotte to secure the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 draft. Instead, the pick went to the New Orleans Hornets, sparking cries of conspiracy from basketball wingnuts everywhere.
Apparently, it wasn't enough for the Big Easy to steal only an entire team from the Queen City.
In any case, Michael Jordan and his legions of "yes men" will have to figure out what to do at No. 2 now that Anthony Davis is presumably beyond their grasp.
They'll have some solid options at their disposal (e.g., Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Bradley Beal and Thomas Robinson), but if MJ really wants to bring this situation full circle, he'll chase the next Kwame Brown and spend the pick on UConn's Andre Drummond.
Cleveland Cavaliers
The ping pong balls somewhat shafted the Cavaliers. Cleveland had the third-best odds of winning the lottery, but instead wound up with the fourth pick.
No doubt that team owner Dan Gilbert is busy typing up another angry letter in Comic Sans and forsaking his son Nick's hipster attire.
In the grand scheme of things, the Cavs shouldn't be all that worse off after moving one spot down in the order. They could use a wing to run with Rookie of the Year Kyrie Irving and should be able to nab one early, between Bradley Beal and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
And if those two are off the board by then, the Cavs can always gamble on Drummond at center.
Brooklyn Nets
The Nets would've needed a hefty favor from Lady Luck not to wind up on the losers' list after the lottery. GM Billy King traded the team's first-round pick to the Portland Trail Blazers in a deadline deal for Gerald Wallace, with only Top 3 protection attached.
And nothing less than a small miracle would've landed the Nets in the Top 3 after they finished with only the sixth-worst regular season record in the NBA.
Unfortunately for the Nets, the pick didn't budge (even if the team has already uprooted from New Jersey to Brooklyn). That leaves King without a major asset as he heads into an offseason in which he'll hope to keep Deron Williams and lure Dwight Howard, or at least avoid winding up with neither.
Luck be a lady, indeed.
For the full 2012 NBA draft order, click here.
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