2012 NBA Draft Order: Biggest Winners and Losers in Draft Lottery
The 2012 NBA draft lottery took place Wednesday night, and it was a doozy.
A number of teams have a lot to look forward to, while others will be understandably sulking over the next month and have little to look forward to in the draft now that the ping-pong balls did not bounce their way.
Let’s take a look at which franchises had the best night and which had the worst.
Winners
New Orleans Hornets
NOLA is having quite the offseason. It snagged a new owner and now has the No. 1 pick in the draft with the closest thing to a guaranteed superstar in Anthony Davis.
The Hornets beat the odds (their first-rounder had just a 13.7 chance of turning up No. 1) and could not have asked for a better lottery.
Golden State Warriors
If the Warriors had gotten unlucky and fell to No. 8 or below, they would have had to send their pick to the Utah Jazz. They are fortunate because the timing could not have been worse for the franchise to lose a lottery pick.
Golden State is attempting to rebuild its franchise around Stephen Curry (who is hopefully healthy next season), Andrew Bogut and young players with a new commitment to defense.
The Warriors can now handpick a talented prospect tailored around their needs and hopefully will find themselves far removed from the lottery next year.
Losers
Charlotte Bobcats
The Bobcats were clearly the biggest loser last night. The No. 2 pick in the draft is the cherry on top of the worst season in NBA history.
It wouldn’t surprise me to see this franchise sold or contracted in the next couple of years, as the Bobcats cannot catch and break and do not seem like they will ever be relevant.
Brooklyn Nets
The Nets were praying that they would luck out and get the top pick, even a top-three pick. Instead, it came up at No. 6 and now goes to the Portland Trail Blazers.
That finalized what may have been one of the worst trades in history—Gerald Wallace for the No. 6 pick in a deep draft, Mehmet Okur and Shawne Williams.
To make it even more ridiculous, Wallace is likely to become a free agent this summer and exercise his early-termination option.
Not to mention, Deron Williams is pretty much out the door by now, and the franchise will be rebuilding around Brook Lopez (who averaged 3.6 RPG last season).
2012 NBA Draft Order
No. 1 – New Orleans Hornets
No. 2 – Charlotte Bobcats
No. 3 – Washington Wizards
No. 4 – Cleveland Cavaliers
No. 5 – Sacramento Kings
No. 6 – Portland Trail Blazers (via Brooklyn Nets)
No. 7 – Golden State Warriors
No. 8 – Toronto Raptors
No. 9 – Detroit Pistons
No. 10 – New Orleans Hornets (from Minnesota Timberwolves via L.A. Clippers)
No. 11 – Portland Trail Blazers
No. 12 – Milwaukee Bucks
No. 13 – Phoenix Suns
No. 14 – Houston Rockets
No. 15 – Philadelphia 76ers
No. 16 – Houston Rockets
No. 17 – Dallas Mavericks
No. 18 – Minnesota Timberwolves (via Utah Jazz)
No. 19 – Orlando Magic
No. 20 – Denver Nuggets
No. 21 – Boston Celtics
No. 22 – Boston Celtics (from Los Angeles Clippers, via OKC Thunder)
No. 23 – Atlanta Hawks
No. 24 – Cleveland Cavaliers (via Los Angeles Lakers)
No. 25 – Memphis Grizzlies
No. 26 – Indiana Pacers
No. 27 – Miami Heat
No. 28 – Chicago Bulls
No. 29 – Oklahoma City Thunder
No. 30 – Golden State Warriors (via San Antonio Spurs)
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