Instead of talking solely about tonight’s opponent the Utah Jazz, I’m going to use this opportunity to talk about the teams in the lottery and discuss which team would win if the NBA rigged it and had their way.
We’ll go in reverse order of standings from the day this is written (April 2).
13. Miami Heat: I think the NBA would love to give a top 4 pick to Heat. It’s a big market and they’re kind of stuck right now. They’ve got some good pieces and adding Cam Boozer or AJ Dybansta (Darryn Peterson is
not a “Heat Culture” guy) would make them quite the marquee team going into next season in the East. Still, their odds are too low and it would be too obvious if Adam Silver gave Pat Riley a top pick. Could they jump into the top 4? Maybe.
12. Portland Trail Blazers: Look, this is a good team. However, they’re still missing a superstar (apologies to Deni Avdija). Damian Lillard is coming back next year and that’s the story. And they’ve already tried the “Give the Blazers a top point guard and let Dame mentor him” thing and it didn’t work. I will say that giving them the top pick could allow the franchise to move on from the Chauncey Billups saga and get that player on television often since the Blazers could be considered contenders to finish in the top 6 in the West next season with a big addition in the draft.
11. Golden State Warriors: I think the Warriors will make the playoffs so they won’t have a shot here, but if they did, this is a tasty one for the league. They gave them a shot at LaMelo Ball and they took James Wiseman isntead, so they’ve failed at this before like the Blazers. But Steph, Jimmy, Draymond, and Boozer? Scary.
10. Milwaukee Bucks: If the Bucks win, we’ll know that Giannis is getting traded soon. This could be the NBA’s “Please trade him to a contender and we’ll give you the lottery” move. Milwaukee doesn’t own it’s own picks until like 2040 so this is their best chance for a while.
9. Chicago Bulls: Remember when the Bulls were 6-0 and actually looked like a good team? Yeah. Putting another star in Chicago would have the league drooling, but the Bulls have proven their ineptitude over and over since the Derrick Rose days.
8. Memphis Grizzlies: The Grizzlies also own Orlando’s pick at 14 if that turns into anything. The Grizzlies are clearly in rebuild mode after trading away Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. Both netted great returns and the Grizz have a chance to really good in five years. The top pick could kickstart that window. Dybansta or Peterson here would be great, but would suck as a fun of a Southwest Division team. I think they move into the top 4. This team and fanbase need something because the relocation whispers are going to get louder if they don’t show glimpses quickly.
7. Atlanta Hawks (via New Orleans Pelicans): The Hawks are good, and they have their franchise player in Jalen Johnson. They won the lottery recently and Risacher has been okay but averaged under 20 minutes a night in March. Does the league want to reward a team that just tried to pull of “Magic City Night?” I think not.
6. Dallas Mavericks: If the Mavs win the lottery again, we’ll know that Nico Harrison had assurances that they would when he traded Luka Doncic. Remember the “Now you see the vision” comments after they won the lottery last year? And suddenly, that trade would look slightly better (still awful, but less so). Pairing Duke boys Boozer and Cooper Flagg would be terrifying for a decade. Dybansta and Flagg would also be scary since it would give them two initiators and ball-handlers. It would also solve Dallas’s immediate need for a point guard, but so would Kingston Flemings, Darius Acuff Jr., or Keaton Wagler.
5. Utah Jazz: The league does not want to see the Jazz get the top pick this year after their blatant tank job. This would be the NBA’s worst nightmare and next season we would see teams at the bottom go even harder than Utah did this year. It would set a terrible precedent. No chance.
4. Sacramento Kings: Speaking of fanbases that deserve some hope, the Kings had one magic season after two decades of futility just to lose to the Warriors. The “Light the Beam” stuff was fun, but the Kings have proven that they’ll probably just surround their top pick with current members of the Chicago Bulls. Cam Boozer and Josh Giddey, anyone?
3. Indiana Pacers: Now we’re getting somewhere. The Pacers are already ready to be contenders next season with Tyrese Haliburton’s return. Team him and Pascal Siakam with Boozer or Peterson? That’s a contender in the East. But the Pacers were also fined for unethical tanking like the Jazz, so I think the league wouldn’t mind them slotting somewhere in the 3-6 range (and getting a really good player in this loaded draft).
2. Brooklyn Nets: I was tempted to write the Nets off after they drafted five players in the first round last year and none have produced. Egor Demin has shown flashes, but their best rookie in terms of analytics has been Malachi Smith, who has played nine games and wasn’t drafted and is on his second 10-day contract. Still, it’s tantalizing to put the top pick in New York and get some buzz back in the Big Apple’s lesser team.
And finally, at 1. Washington Wizards. The Wiz are bad, BUT there are some fun ideas to go with giving them the top pick. Alex Sarr is a good NBA player, and Kyshawn George has shown signs of being good. Next year, they’ll add Anthony Davis and a full year of Trae Young. They could draft any of the potential top picks and have clear minutes for them on day 1. Dybansta is probably the flashiest addition, but Peterson works here too in certain situations.
This a draft unlike several others recently where there’s been one star at the top and then some question marks afterwards. In this draft, there’s a clear top 3, then there’s a solid 3 or 4 after that that could be really good. So half of these teams are going to get a player with a lot of upside to excite their fanbases, but I think if the league is rigging this, it goes like this:
- Dallas (if it was already agreed upon)
- Washington
- Milwaukee
- Golden State
- Brooklyn
Obivously, that’s not a draft order but you get it.
Tip-off
7pm CT
How To Watch
Space City Home Network
Injury Report
Rockets
Steven Adams: OUT
Fred VanVleet: OUT
Jazz
Keyonte George: GTD
Lauri Markkanen: OUT
Jusuf Nurkic: OUT
Isaish Collier: GTD
Elijah Harkless: GTD
The Line (as of this post)
N/A
Check here for updates
Looking ahead because we can
Sunday night on the road against the Golden State Warriors
