NBA Draft Order 2013: Where Every Team Is Slotted in First Round

The 2013 NBA draft lottery concluded on Tuesday night, finally giving general managers, scouts and fans a complete look at how the first round of next month’s draft will look.

Cleveland came up with the No. 1 pick for the second time in the past three years, but it isn’t the big winner according to my calculations.

Keep reading to find out the complete draft order for the first round and then check out my analysis on which club scored the best pick and which was jobbed by the lottery yet again.  

Complete First Round Draft Order

Pick No.	Team	Lottery Odds
1.	Cleveland Cavaliers	15.6%
2.	Orlando Magic	25.0%
3.	Washington Wizards	2.8%
4.	Charlotte Bobcats	19.9%
5.	Phoenix Suns	11.9%
6.	New Orleans Pelicans	8.8%
7.	Sacramento Kings	6.3%
8.	Detroit Pistons	4.3%
9.	Minnesota Timberwolves	1.7%
10.	Portland Trail Blazers	1.1%
11.	Philadelphia 76ers	0.8%
12.	Oklahoma City Thunder (via Raptors)	0.7%
13.	Dallas Mavericks	0.6%
14.	Utah Jazz	0.5%
15.	Milwaukee Bucks	N/A
16.	Boston Celtics	N/A
17.	Atlanta Hawks	N/A
18.	Atlanta Hawks (via Rockets)	N/A
19.	Cleveland Cavaliers (via Suns, from Heat)	N/A
20.	Chicago Bulls	N/A
21.	Utah Jazz (via Warriors)	N/A
22.	Brooklyn Nets	N/A
23.	Indiana Pacers	N/A
24.	New York Knicks	N/A
25.	Los Angeles Clippers	N/A
26.	Minnesota Timberwolves (via Grizzlies)	N/A
27.	Denver Nuggets	N/A
28.	San Antonio Spurs	N/A
29.	Oklahoma City Thunder	N/A
30.	Phoenix Suns (via Cavaliers, from Lakers)	N/A

Big Winner: Washington Wizards, No. 3

With only a 2.8 percent chance to win the first pick and slotted to draft at No. 8 prior to the lottery, the Wizards miraculously moved all the way up to No. 3 on Tuesday evening.

Call it karma, as the team started 5-28 and sat in the league’s basement for over a third of the 2012-13 season. Washington could have easily bottomed out, tanked the remainder of the year and scored a 25 percent chance to nab the top pick.

However, with John Wall’s return, Bradley Beal’s emergence and coach Randy Wittman’s determination, the club finished a respectable 29-53—good for 10th place in the Eastern Conference.

While they aren’t selecting at No. 1, the Wizards are going to have a great chance to select a player that can help them immediately with the third pick—or acquire one by using the pick as a trading chip.

According to Michael Lee of The Washington Post, Ernie Grunfeld—the organization’s general manager—hasn’t ruled that out possibility:

"

Nothing is on the table, but you never say never to anything. I think we feel comfortable with the number three pick and that we’ll be able to have a good player there, but if somebody makes an offer that we feel is more helpful, then that’s something we may look at.

"

If the Wizards don’t flip the pick to acquire a veteran, expect them to take a hard look at Georgetown’s Otto Porter.

Porter is one prospect that can help this franchise immediately, as his main weakness is his inability to create a shot. With Wall and Beal lighting up the scoreboard, the Hoyas swingman can concentrate on defending, rebounding, hustling and knocking down open treys.

He fills a huge need, as the SF spot has been lacking production in the nation’s capital for years.

There will be a few other players worth checking into, such as UNLV’s Anthony Bennett and Kansas’ Ben McLemore (if available), but expect the Wizards to either go with Porter or trade out.

 

Big Loser: Charlotte Bobcats

It seems the Bobcats are one of the saddest franchises the NBA has to offer, and the heartbreak only gets worse in the lottery.

After having far and away the worst record in the league last year, the club failed to land the top pick and missed the opportunity to select a franchise-altering big man in Anthony Davis.

The 'Cats had another great chance—19.9 percent to be exact—of scoring the top pick this year, but fell all the way to No. 4 when the ping-pong balls decided their fate.

With so many holes on the roster—only Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (last year’s No. 2) and Kemba Walker (No. 9 in 2011) seem to have long-term futures in Charlotte—there is no doubting that Michael Jordan’s front office can find a suitable pick, but the Bobcats could miss out on the two best fits.

Those would be Nerlens Noel, another super-athletic big from Kentucky, and Ben McLemore, a promising off-guard with incredible range on his jumper.

If Noel goes No. 1 overall to Cleveland—as expected—and McLemore follows him as the Magic’s pick, the Bobcats will be left to choose between lower-tier prospects like Bennett, Victor Oladipo, Alex Len, Cody Zeller and others.

While I’m not saying these players will be awful or have no shot at success, their ceilings are lower and aren’t as sure of a thing—which is exactly what this downtrodden franchise needs.

There’s always next year, when the Bobcats will likely be picking in the lottery yet again, but at least that class is deep, projected to be filled with talent from top to bottom.