Pippen Ain't Easy
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NBA Draft Lottery: An explanation on the NBA’s Powerball Day

By Michael Whitlow

May 17, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler represents his team during the NBA draft lottery at New York Hilton Midtown. The Philadelphia 76ers received the first overall pick in the 2016 draft. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
May 17, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler represents his team during the NBA draft lottery at New York Hilton Midtown. The Philadelphia 76ers received the first overall pick in the 2016 draft. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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Here’s a guide on how the process of the NBA Draft Lottery works, including a short explanation on the Chicago Bulls and their place in the 2017 NBA Draft next month.

Unfortunately for Chicago Bulls fans that rode on a tank through an up-and-down, 82-game season this year, the Bulls will not be involved in the 2017 NBA Draft Lottery on Tuesday night.

The Bulls, who were eliminated from the first round as the Eastern Conference’s No. 8 seed by the top-seeded Boston Celtics, already know their place in the 2017 NBA Draft next month.

As of now, the Bulls will select 16th overall in the draft, unless some drastic changes come in the form of a trade involving say, Jimmy Butler?

We’ll get into that a little bit later, but for now, here’s an explanation of what you’ll see on Tuesday night with the 14 participating teams and how the draft lottery works.

What is the NBA Draft Lottery?

The lottery is where the 14 teams that didn’t make the postseason will send a representative (a player, a general manager, a child of the owner, etc.) to be present for their franchise during the televised event that will decide the top 14 picks in the draft, starting with No. 14 and working all the way towards the No. 1 pick.

How does it work?

Here’s a full explanation of the lottery’s process with the ping pong balls you always hear referenced from the NBA’s official website, courtesy of the 2016 NBA Draft Lottery:

"Fourteen ping-pong balls numbered 1 through 14 will be placed in a lottery machine. There are 1,001 possible combinations when four balls are drawn out of 14, without regard to their order of selection. Prior to the lottery, 1,000 of those 1,001 combinations will be assigned to the 14 participating lottery teams.The lottery machine is manufactured by the Smart Play Company, a leading manufacturer of state lottery machines throughout the United States. Smart Play also weighs, measures and certifies the ping-pong balls prior to the drawing.The drawing process occurs in the following manner: All 14 balls are placed in the lottery machine and they are mixed for 20 seconds; then the first ball is removed. The remaining balls are mixed in the lottery machine for another 10 seconds, and then second ball is drawn. There is a 10-second mix, and then the third ball is drawn. There is a 10-second mix, and then the fourth ball is drawn. The team that has been assigned that combination will receive the number one pick. The same process is repeated with the same ping-pong balls and lottery machine for the second pick and then again for the third pick.If the same team comes up more than once, the result is discarded and another 4-ball combination is selected. Also, if the one unassigned combination is drawn, the balls are drawn to the top again.The length of time the balls are mixed is monitored by a timekeeper who faces away from the machine and signals the machine operator after the appropriate amount of time has elapsed."

So basically, the worst your record is, the better chance you have of obtaining the No. 1 overall pick. It’s no guarantee that completely tanking out will bring you the top pick.

Remember the Bulls winning the 2008 NBA Draft Lottery? They had less than a two-percent chance of winning the top pick and yet, they still landed Derrick Rose.

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The current odds for the 14 participating teams

Here are the most current lottery odds for the teams on Tuesday night, starting with the league-worst Brooklyn Nets, who tried to keep the Bulls from making the postseason late in the year. Yeah, you remember “The Spencer Dinwiddie Game.”

  1. Brooklyn Nets (pick goes to the Boston Celtics via trade in 2013) – 25 percent chance of obtaining the No. 1 pick, 64.3 percent of being in the top three picks
  2. Phoenix Suns – 19.9 percent chance of getting top pick, 55.8 percent of being in the top three
  3. Los Angeles Lakers – 15.6 percent chance of getting top pick, 46.9 percent of being in top three
  4. Philadelphia 76ers – 11.9 percent chance of getting top pick, 37.8 percent of being in top three
  5. Orlando Magic – 8.8 percent chance of getting top pick, 29.1 percent of being in top three
  6. Minnesota Timberwolves – 5.3 percent chance of getting top pick, 18.3 percent of being in top three
  7. New York Knicks – 5.3 percent chance of getting top pick, 18.3 percent of being in top three
  8. Sacramento Kings –  2.8 percent chance of getting top pick, 9.9 percent of being in top three
  9. Dallas Mavericks – 1.7 percent chance of getting top pick, 6.1 percent of being in top three
  10. New Orleans Pelicans (pick goes to Sacramento via DeMarcus Cousins trade) – 1.1 percent chance of getting top pick, 4.0 percent of being in top three
  11. Charlotte Hornets –  0.8 percent chance of getting top pick, 2.9 percent of being in top three
  12. Detroit Pistons –  0.7 percent chance of getting top pick, 2.5 percent of being in top three
  13. Denver Nuggets –  0.6 percent chance of getting top pick, 2.2 percent of being in top three
  14. Miami Heat –  0.5 percent chance of getting top pick, 1.8 percent of being in top three

How does this affect the Bulls?

Obviously, the Bulls will not be involved on Tuesday night, but things could get interesting if the Celtics win the lottery and the No. 1 pick because of those Butler rumors from months past. Also, it’s not crazy to think that Tom Thibodeau and the Timberwolves would want in on some trade discussions involving one of his former players-turned-superstar.

Next: Our own Daniel Coughlin gives out his 2016-17 Bulls season awards here at PAE

The Bulls will be observers just like everyone else on Tuesday, but their involvement could be seen in the weeks ahead.

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