NBA Draft Lottery 2018: Preview, Odds and Top Teams to Watch at Tuesday's Event

When Dr. James Naismith invented basketball in 1891 for his students, it would have been hard for him to fathom that one of the most exciting things about his now-worldwide sport more than a century later would be the opening of large square envelopes one by one to reveal a given year's draft order for a league of professionals.

Alas, the act is somehow an edge-of-your-seat thriller every year, unless you're a New York Knicks fan, in which case your team either doesn't have a first-round pick or never lands in the top three despite missing the playoffs nearly every year.

The order of the lottery portion of the NBA draft will be revealed on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. Here's a look at all the NBA draft lottery odds, per NBA.com, as well as the top teams to watch at Tuesday's event.

NBA Draft Lottery Odds for Top 3 and No. 1 Picks

1. Phoenix Suns: Top-three pick (64.2 percent), No. 1 pick (25.0 percent)

2. Memphis Grizzlies: Top-three pick (55.8 percent), No. 1 pick (19.9 percent)

3. Dallas Mavericks: Top-three pick (42.5 percent), No. 1 pick (13.8 percent)

4. Atlanta Hawks: Top-three pick (42.4 percent), No. 1 pick (13.7 percent)

5. Orlando Magic: Top-three pick (29.1 percent), No. 1 pick (8.8 percent)

6. Chicago Bulls: Top-three pick (18.3 percent), No. 1 pick (5.3 percent)

7. Sacramento Kings: Top-three pick (18.3 percent), No. 1 pick (5.3 percent)

8. Cleveland Cavaliers: Top-three pick (10.0 percent), No. 1 pick (2.8 percent)

9. New York Knicks: Top-three pick (6.1 percent), No. 1 pick (1.7 percent)

10. Philadelphia 76ers: Top-three pick (4.0 percent), No. 1 pick (1.1 percent)

11. Charlotte Hornets: Top-three pick (2.9 percent), No. 1 pick (0.8 percent)

12. Los Angeles Clippers: Top-three pick (2.5 percent), No. 1 pick (0.7 percent)

13. Los Angeles Clippers: Top-three pick (2.2 percent), No. 1 pick (0.6 percent)

14. Denver Nuggets: Top-three pick (1.8 percent), No. 1 pick (0.5 percent)

Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers own the Brooklyn Nets' pick in this year's draft thanks to the Kyrie Irving deal with the Boston Celtics prior to the season. The C's sent the Cavs the Nets' selection, which was given to Boston in the Paul Pierce-Kevin Garnett blockbuster from 2013.

The selection is unprotected, which means that the Cavs will assume the Nets' selection regardless of where it goes in the draft. Cleveland's pick can't be lower than 10th, and it has a 10 percent chance of a top-three pick and a 2.8 percent shot for No. 1.

If LeBron James decides to finish out his career in Cleveland (he can opt out of his contract this year), then there is far less pressure on this draft pick moving forward. The player won't be asked to help carry the weight of the franchise off the bat as he assimilates into the team's rotation.

At first glance, a ball-handling guard who can score makes the most sense: Right now, James does much of the scoring and facilitating, so he could use someone to help take some of that pressure off. Therefore, either of a pair of freshman guards (Trae Young of Oklahoma or Collin Sexton of Alabama) could work here.

Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics

The Philadelphia 76ers also have a lottery pick (originally owned by the Los Angeles Lakers) by virtue of a trade...or they may not.

The fine details and route to which the pick may land with the 76ers can be found on NBA.com and USA Today, but the end result for 2018 is as follows: If the selection lands in second or third, then the Boston Celtics own the pick. If the pick lands first, 10th, 11th or 12th (the only other landing spots for this pick), then this selection goes to Philadelphia.

There is a 2.9 percent chance that the 76ers' ends up being second or third, so chances are Philadelphia will end up taking this selection.

That being said, this could be a very important pick for the future landscape of the Eastern Conference. The 76ers and Celtics faced off in the conference semifinals, and they looked like two teams who will be battling each other for the next decade given the amount of young talent on the floor for both sides.

The balance of power in the Eastern Conference may then partially reside on this pick: If Boston gets it, an elite big man (such as Deandre Ayton of Arizona or Marvin Bagley III of Duke) makes sense, giving it someone to contend with 76ers center Joel Embiid for the foreseeable future.

On the flip side, if Philadelphia retains the selection and somehow gets the first pick overall, then they can get a superstar to join a packed rotation (perhaps Real Madrid guard Luka Doncic). Of course, if Philadelphia stays around No. 10, then a solid player should still be there waiting to join the rotation.

Los Angeles Clippers and Detroit Pistons

Once again, we have a scenario where a pick can go to another team. The Los Angeles Clippers' own the Detroit Pistons pick by virtue of the Blake Griffin trade, but it is protected from picks No. 1 through No. 4, per RealGM. Since the Clips can't get the No. 4 pick, it's No. 1 through No. 3 in reality.

The dream scenario for the Clips is for their own first-round pick to land in the top three while the Detroit selection stays in the bottom portion of the lottery. If that occurs (the odds are remote, admittedly), then L.A. would be well on its way to a rebuild that started when Chris Paul was dealt to the Houston Rockets in the offseason.

But if Detroit gets that pick, then the obvious play for the Pistons is to take the best guard available. With Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond working down low, someone like Doncic would make a ton of sense provided he's available.

The most likely scenario is for the Clippers to retain both of those first-round picks in the No. 12-13 range, which would obviously still help the rebuilding process.

This looks like a deep class on paper, and L.A. could go the route of picking a high-upside prospect (like Zhaire Smith of Texas Tech) and/or someone who could conceivably contribute immediately (like Robert Williams of Texas A&M). Williams is capable of bringing instant energy, fantastic athleticism and stout defense off the bench right away.