Hawks win big, Pistons lose

The NBA Draft offers hope – hope that better days are ahead for some teams or hope that success can be lasting for other teams.

That’s hope in a No. 1 pick like Victor Wembanyama in 2023 or a 13th pick like Donovan Mitchell in 2017 or a No. 3 pick like Luka Doncic in 2018.

The Atlanta Hawks unexpectedly won the NBA draft lottery on Sunday; They had a 3% chance of winning the No. 1 pick and the ping pong balls gave their numbers. Washington landed at No. 2, followed by Houston at No. 3, San Antonio at No. 4 and Detroit at No. 5.

Here are the winners and losers of the NBA draft lottery:

Winners

Atlanta Falcons

A 3% chance doesn’t equate to Mega Millions odds, but it’s still unlikely. Hell, the Hawks were only 13.88% short of a top-four finish and only four teams won the draft lottery with worse odds than Atlanta. Now the Hawks have the No. 1 pick for the first time since 1975, when they selected David Thompson. Atlanta general manager Landry Fields and his staff must determine who they want to pick in a draft without a consensus No. 1 pick, although Frenchmen Alex Sarr and Zaccharie Risacher are the top two picks in several mock drafts.

San Antonio Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs have two lottery picks – No. 4 and No. 8. The fourth pick is because they finished 22-60 and had a 42.11% chance of landing a top four pick. The No. 8 pick comes from Toronto. This was a protected top-six pick, but as Houston and Atlanta moved into the top four, Toronto was pushed out of the top six, passing that pick to the Spurs. The pick was traded to San Antonio in the deal that sent Jakob Poeltl and Khem Birch from San Antonio to Toronto at the 2023 trade deadline. They can add talent to help the No. 1 pick 2023 and 2024 Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs’ generational big man.

Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets have two first-round picks in 2023 (Amen Thompson at No. 4 and Cam Whitmore at No. 20) and improved in 2023-24, finishing 41-41 and flirting with a playoff appearance for a long time. part of the season. They missed the playoffs and were taken in the ninth and 12th picks before the lottery. The No. 9 pick came from Brooklyn (as part of the 2021 James Harden trade) and the No. 12 pick was theirs. With a 20.27% chance of getting into the top four with Brooklyn, the Rockets, like the Hawks, had luck on their side. However, the Rockets had to pass on the No. 12 pick to Oklahoma City because he is protected in the top four.

Oklahoma City Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder had the second-best record in the league, but they stockpiled first-round picks. When they traded Russell Westbrook to Houston in 2019, the Thunder received a 2024 first-round pick from the Rockets who was top-four protected. Because that pick didn’t make it into the top four, the Thunder got the pick, giving a team with an impressive scouting and strong draft history the opportunity to add another quality player to a contender.

Wizards of Washington

The Washington Wizards had the second-best odds to land the No. 2 pick, and that’s what happened. Team president Michael Winger and general manager Will Dawkins are looking for short- and long-term answers on the roster. Last year, the Wizards selected French forward Bilal Coulibaly, and he had a solid rookie season, averaging 8.4 points and 4.1 rebounds and showing the potential to become a solid player in the two ways for the Wizards.

Losers

Detroit Pistons

For the second straight season, the Detroit Pistons had the worst record in the NBA, and for the second straight year, the Pistons slipped in the draft lottery. The Pistons had a 50-50 chance to land a top-four pick and fell to the No. 5 pick. The sting has lessened a bit because there is no Wembanyama in this year’s draft, and the Pistons can still draft a productive player at No. 5. But the fact is, the ping-pong balls didn’t bounce the Pistons’ way.

Toronto Raptors

The Toronto Raptors just needed lottery odds to stay true to form. That didn’t happen when Atlanta and Houston moved into the top four, knocking the Raptors out of the top 6 — and that means they’re passing that pick to San Antonio as part of the aforementioned Poeltl trade in 2023. Toronto still has a first-round pick (No. 19 from Indiana in the deal that sent Pascal Siakam from Toronto to the Pacers at the 2024 trade deadline).

Charlotte Frelons

The Charlotte Hornets, with new ownership (Rick Schnall, Gabe Plotkin), new vice president of basketball operations (Jeff Peterson), and new coach (Charles Lee), had the third-best odds to land the No. #1 and a 50.28% chance of landing a top-four pick. Instead, the Hornets fell to No. 6 as they look to build around LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller.

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