The NBA Draft Lottery is officially over and now it is time to discuss.
NBA DRAFT LOTTERY 🚨
1. Pistons
2. Rockets
3. Cavs
4. Raptors
5. Magic
6. Thunder
7. Warriors
8. Magic
9. Kings
10. Pelicans
11. Hornets
12. Spurs
13. Pacers
14. Warriors pic.twitter.com/FxfltGNidN— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 23, 2021
There are winners and losers of the lottery.
Let’s take a quick look at the NBA teams that got the worst-case scenario of this lottery.
It is a crapshoot to say the least.
Now with the odds being more spread out, we can see teams with a top-three worst record fall out of the top five.
Some teams also were in risk of losing their picks if it fell outside of the protection.
The lottery is very stressful for any NBA franchise.
All you want is a good enough pick.
You never want to fall outside of your projection.
However, some teams did.
A loss in the lottery can derail a franchise for the next couple of years.
Here are two teams that received the worst news possible.
2. Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves conducted a trade last season that sent Andrew Wiggins and a top-three protected first-round pick for D’Angelo Russell.
This trade was mostly done to make Karl-Anthony Towns happy, as he and Russell are great friends.
However, that trade could end up hurting the franchise.
The pick ended up falling outside the top three to the seventh.
The Timberwolves land 7th in the NBA Draft Lottery (a drop of one slot), therefore the pick goes to the Golden State Warriors. pic.twitter.com/im2jf7K540
— Chris Long (@ChrisLongKSTP) June 23, 2021
That now means that the Timberwolves have lost out on a lottery pick.
They are a team that has been in a constant rebuild.
In fact, they won the lottery last year.
Unfortunately, they did not receive the same amount of luck this year.
The Timberwolves are now stuck searching for options.
What can they do to salvage this loss?
They might be in the market for a draft pick on draft night, but it will not be as high as they wanted.
The trade was supposed to usher in more winning for the franchise.
Now it might haunt them for the foreseeable future.
1. Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls were in a similar situation as the Timberwolves.
A trade that was supposed to help with winning, but ended up costing them a draft pick.
Their trade with the Orlando Magic for All-Star center Nikola Vucevic was going to push them to a playoff berth this season.
However, that did not happen and they regressed.
The lottery was their last chance to gain something for the trade.
Perhaps they can get Vucevic and receive the first overall pick.
At least be a top-four pick and they can walk away happy.
None of that occurred.
The Chicago Bulls first-round pick is going to be the 8th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. This pick fell outside of the Top-4 and will therefore be conveyed to the Orlando Magic. #NBA #NBADraftLottery
— Brett Siegel (@BrettSiegelNBA) June 23, 2021
Instead, they fell to the eighth pick and had to surrender it to the Magic.
Now the Bulls are without a first-round pick.
To make matters worse, their All-Star guard, Zach LaVine, is entering the last year of his contract.
He has never played in a NBA playoff game, and that trend might continue for next season.
There is a great chance that this is his last season with the Bulls.
Losing out on this draft pick can hurt the future of this team.
With LaVine potentially gone soon and now with no first-round selection, the Bulls are in their worst-case scenario.
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