5 Burning Questions Following the 2016 NBA Draft Lottery
The NBA's lottery gods have spoken. The 2016 draft order is set, and the Philadelphia 76ers, owners of the No. 1 pick, have reason to rejoice.
Here's a look at how the rest of Tuesday night's selection process panned out:
Feel that? It's the sensation of pressing, post-lottery questions burning a hole in your brain. But don't worry.
We're about to stoke that fire some more.
Honorable Mention: Where Do the Suns Go from Here?
As of now, the Phoenix Suns, who own three first-rounders in this year's prospect pageant, plan to keep their No. 4 selection, per Paul Coro of AZCentral.com:
Mystery abounds beyond that blueprint. The Suns are rebuilding, yet have more than $26.6 million committed to the backcourt pairing of Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight next season alone. Mix in Tyson Chandler's $12.4 million salary with Devin Booker's meteoric rise through the rookie ranks, and you get total confusion.
Could the Suns look to package any of their three picks, including the fourth overall slot, in an effort to speed up the quasi-rebuild they started after surprising in 2013-14? Should they look to unload some combination of their high-paid talent in an attempt to hit reset and reinvent themselves around Booker and whomever they take at No. 4?
Or, more detrimentally, will they continue this flawed balancing act, remaining caught between rebuilding and competing, without ever really paving a direct path to anywhere?
Decisions, decisions.
Who Will the Sixers Take with the No. 1 Pick?
Duke's Brandon Ingram or LSU's Ben Simmons?
This is the only question that matters for the Sixers after they won the lottery. And make no mistake, it's a tough one. Heading into Tuesday night, there didn't appear to be a consensus first choice around the league, according to NBA.com's Scott Howard-Cooper:
Most mock drafts, including those from Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman, tend to lean toward Simmons even though his jumper lacks polish. He attempted just three triples and shot 32.9 percent on two-point jumpers at LSU, according to Hoop-Math.com.
That's because Simmons looks like the more transcendent player. He can defend more positions, has the vision of a point guard and is ridiculously athletic. All things being equal, he is better equipped to be the foundation upon which an entire team is built.
Except all things aren't equal in Philadelphia, as Joel Embiid kindly reminded the world at large:
The Sixers already have three bigs on the roster with Embiid, Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor. The 6'10" Dario Saric is expected to come stateside for the first time next season as well.
Selecting Simmons would be overkill, creating a complete and utter roster imbalance unlike anything the NBA has ever seen, as NJ.com's Joe Giglio jokingly yet usefully observed:
Newly instated president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo already needs to break up that traffic jam. Selecting Simmons would exacerbate the situation and force him to deal two to three of Embiid, Noel, Okafor and Saric—assuming the Sixers wish to space the floor anytime soon.
Thus, it would seem then that Ingram is the clear choice. He can stroke threes and play small forward without issue. Even if he ends up being a power forward at some point, he would be easier to integrate now as Philly tries to figure out its frontcourt.
And yet, if Simmons is the better building block, the Sixers might not want to reach for Ingram, even if it's only a slight reach. Might they draft him and then dangle most of their incumbent frontcourt in trade talks? Or do they, as the Cauldron's Andy Glockner proposed, try to move down in a blatant asset grab?
Big decisions need to be made in Philadelphia between now and the June 23 draft. This is the Sixers' best opportunity to advance a stalled tank job, and they cannot afford to get it wrong.
Will the Lakers Trade the No. 2 Pick?
Well, the Los Angeles Lakers got their wish: They do not need to send their top-three protected pick to the 76ers. Now they must decide whether to send it elsewhere.
Either Ingram or Simmons would be a great fit in Hollywood. Ingram would instantly upgrade the Lakers' cruddy defense and could play off D'Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson (a restricted free agent); Simmons could be the defense-savvy point forward that Julius Randle is not.
General manger Mitch Kupchak can sit back, let the Sixers choose between the two top prospects and pounce on the remaining one, knowing full well there is no worst-case scenario.
These are the Lakers, though. Nothing is ever that simple. They are always seduced by the possibility of an instant turnaround. They were (unsuccessful) major free-agency players in each of the last two summers, and ESPN's Stephen A. Smith already has them poaching All-Star DeMar DeRozan (player option) from the Toronto Raptors this summer.
And let's not forget what part owner and executive vice president of basketball operations Jim Buss told Basketball Insiders' Eric Pincus: "Right now, I think our young guys are the perfect number, and we will add solid veterans."
True to the Lakers' usual offseason approach, Kupchak has not, per the Los Angeles Times' Mike Bresnahan, said anything to quell speculation:
But wait! There's more:
Thoroughly confused? You're not alone. The Lakers do not traffic in certainty these days.
One thing, however, is for sure: Regardless of whether the Lakers use the pick to bolster their roster or draft someone with the intention of trading him, they better enter next season with one prospective or established cornerstone to show for their previous two years of tire fire.
How Will the Celtics Use their Gift from the Nets?
Brooklyn Nets fans are strongly encouraged to skip this section.
Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge isn't too disappointed that his team didn't jump a spot or two but rather ended up with the third pick:
Excited because...well, we don't really know.
Ainge said the Celtics "like this draft," but they own three first-round picks: Nos. 3 (via Brooklyn), 16 (via Dallas) and 23. Do they really like it that much? There is, after all, already an excess of talent on Boston's roster.
Head coach Brad Stevens just guided his should-be upstart crew to a four-way tie for the third-best record in the Eastern Conference. If the Celtics were a semblance of healthy against the Atlanta Hawks in the first round, we might even be talking about their second-round effort against the Cleveland Cavaliers—or so says lottery representative Isaiah Thomas, per SiriusXM NBA Radio:
With Boston on the brink of conference and title contention, it makes sense for it to gauge the trade market in search of a deal that lands a genuine superstar. There is no other team that can piece together a more attractive package.
Expect the Celtics to be a rumor-mill fixture heading into draft night. And even if they keep the pick, don't rule out a trade in the future. Ainge is as aggressive as executives come, and Boston is a team that's one high-end player away from taking a stick of dynamite to the East's present pecking order.
Who Will Be KAT's Next Partner in Crime?
Karl-Anthony Towns has expedited the Minnesota Timberwolves' rebuilding timeline. That's what happens when you're the unanimous Rookie of the Year.
Armed with the No. 5 pick, the Timberwolves have a unique opportunity to improve upon one of the league's most promising young cores. Consider all they have to work with in addition to Towns, as Bleacher Report's Adam Fromal did while slotting them at No. 1 in his future power rankings for the 14 lottery teams:
"Andrew Wiggins has incredible scoring talent and all-around upside, even if he's had trouble turning those raw skills into actual production early in his career. Even Zach LaVine has All-Star potential, especially now that the Wolves have realized they're better off playing him at the 2, thriving away from the ball.
Throw in Tom Thibodeau as the franchise's new head coach, and the porous defense should start improving quickly. Everything is trending in the right direction, and there's no telling how long it will continue to do so.
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Should the Timberwolves hit on this year's pick, they'll be on a super, ridiculous, unimaginably fast track to title contention. They need shooting and defense on the wing, and Wasserman has them taking Kentucky's Jamal Murray in his latest mock.
That's a great value pickup for the Timberwolves, as Murray won't demand a ton of touches and should be able to beef up the team's poor perimeter defense. But Minnesota is also at the mercy of four teams in front of it.
Could one of the Celtics or Suns throw a wrench in their plans, forcing them to pivot elsewhere and perhaps reach for another wing like California's Jaylen Brown? Or will they have an opportunity to draft someone in Murray who makes too much sense for them?
Will the Pelicans Rebuild?
Absent a miracle at the lottery, the New Orleans Pelicans were always going to end up here: with a top-seven pick and once again tasked with deciding between rebuilding around Anthony Davis or trying to take advantage of his superhuman prime now.
This just in: There is no decision—or at least there shouldn't be.
Justin Verrier of ESPN.com summed up New Orleans' state of affairs nicely:
"From the outside, the ledger would seem to tilt heavily toward patience. Not only has ownership witnessed the pitfalls of a get-rich-quick approach firsthand, but Davis is locked into a second contract with paychecks, and thus a salary-cap number, that reflect his star status. Even if the deal remains a bargain at 25 percent of the league's cap—and not the 30 they'd be on the hook for if Davis makes an All-NBA team and triggers the Rose Rule clause—the need for inexpensive talent to join the likes of Tim Frazier and James Ennis now increases.
The team will have cash to throw around this summer regardless—likely $22.4 million, based on pre-draft estimates—but with a cap spike expected to turn free agency into a money booth, with a roster full of needs, and without a history of success to make up for its small market, it's hard to envision the Pelicans signing the sort of high-end second option who could set the franchise up for years to come. Utilizing the draft for a change, even if it means remaining stationary for another season or two, could be a prudent way to stockpile talent and, more importantly, avoid a fate similar to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the summer of 2010.
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Davis is still only 23 and just about to start playing under the five-year super-max deal he signed last summer. There is time to rebuild the right way, through the draft, while flipping win-now assets like Tyreke Evans and Jrue Holiday for additional picks and/or the right to get out from under the remaining four years of Omer Asik's terrible deal.
Ah, yes. Omer Asik. A harbinger of the Pelicans' last attempt to accelerate the rebuilding process. They should view him—plus this season's 30-win letdown—as a cautionary tale from which they can learn. They may not, of course.
That's the upshot of employing someone like Davis. The temptation to skip steps, even necessary ones, is dangerously real.
Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com unless otherwise cited. Salary information via Basketball Insiders.
Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @danfavale.
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