May 17, 2016; New York, NY, USA; NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum announces that the 76ers receive the first pick in the 2016 NBA draft during the NBA draft lottery at New York Hilton Midtown. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Now that the 2017 NBA Draft Lottery has played out and the Boston Celtics have won the No. 1 overall pick, who are the biggest winners and losers?
The 2017 NBA Draft Lottery results are in, and the Boston Celtics have earned the No. 1 overall pick. Selections 1-14 were set in stone Tuesday night, and barring any draft-day trades, we now know the order for the entire first round of the 2017 NBA Draft.
The Celtics are obviously this year's big winners, but what about the rest of the teams entering draft lottery night with their fingers crossed?
Every year, someone's bound to get screwed by the NBA Draft Lottery. It's just the nature of the beast, especially since the team with the best odds of securing the No. 1 overall pick has only won the top overall selection five times dating back to 1993 — and that's including this year's result.
From conspiracy theorists crying "rigged!" to an Eastern Conference power walking away with the No. 1 overall pick, here's a look at four major winners and four major losers from the 2017 NBA Draft Lottery.
May 15, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas (4) looks on during player introductions prior to game seven of the second round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs against the Washington Wizards at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Winner: Boston Celtics
I mean, duh. Back in 2013, when the Boston Celtics sent Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Jason Terry and D.J. White to the Brooklyn Nets for Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries, MarShon Brooks, Keith Bogans and a 2014 first round pick, a 2016 first round pick, a 2018 first round pick AND the rights to swap first round picks in 2017, it seemed one-sided at the time.
The Nets were bringing in two Hall of Famers with championship experience, but they were heading toward the twilight of their careers. No one expected the Nets would fall off so quickly, but when they did, the value of all those first round picks skyrocketed to Danny Ainge-levels of excitement.
.@Amanda_Pflugrad speaks with an ecstatic Danny Ainge following the Celtics securing the #1 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. pic.twitter.com/sK0v46RG6b
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 17, 2017
Up to this point, all the Celtics had to show for those selections were James Young (2014) and rookie Jaylen Brown. Now, in addition to Brown's rapid progress, they can add the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft to the equation.
Whether that turns into Markelle Fultz, Lonzo Ball, Josh Jackson or a blockbuster trade for someone like Paul George or Jimmy Butler remains to be seen. Either way, the Celtics have an abundance of riches as the No. 1 seed in the East…with possibly another No. 1 pick coming next year.
Loser: Brooklyn Nets
Again, duh. The New York Knicks will always rule the Big Apple, no matter how terrible they are, much like the Los Angeles Lakers will always own L.A. But man, all the excitement over the new-age Brooklyn Nets and their relocation to the Barclays Center seems like a lifetime ago now.
Coming off a 20-win season, Nets fans should have had plenty to be excited about this season, with a 25 percent chance of securing the No. 1 overall pick. Thanks to that disastrous trade that will forever live in franchise infamy, they had to watch that Celtics logo flip up on the cue card for the No. 1 overall pick.
To be fair, the Nets still own two first round selections this year at No. 22 (via the Washington Wizards) and No. 27 (via Boston's pick swap). But watching that No. 1 pick shuffle on over to Beantown makes Brooklyn an automatic loser here.
Apr 7, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers president for basketball operations acknowledges the fans as he attends the game against the Sacramento Kings at Staples Center. Lakers won 98-94. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Winner: Los Angeles Lakers
We're not going to say the NBA Draft Lottery is rigged, but conspiracy theorists were provided with a Magic Johnson-sized mound of evidence in 2017.
There was the fact that the Los Angeles Lakers kept their top-three protected first round pick in this year's draft, also allowing them to keep their 2019 first-rounder. There was the fact that the Celtics, Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers — three of the NBA's most prestigious, major market franchises — went one, two and three.
And then there was the fact that Magic, after a brief moment of looking nervous, couldn't help but contain his excitement about the prospect of denying Joel Embiid and the Sixers that protected pick.
LOOK AT HIM, FAM. IT'S LIKE HE ALREADY KNOWS.
???? #NBADraftLottery pic.twitter.com/Vbex8U4Zaj
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) May 17, 2017
The Lakers not only kept their first round pick, but all they actually moved up to No. 2 in the draft order despite finishing with the third-worst record in the league this season. Why? Because Lakers.
Loser: Orlando Magic
The Sixers were obviously hoping the Lakers' first round pick would fall out of the top-three so they would receive it, but the Orlando Magic were right there with them, since they would've gotten L.A.' unprotected first round pick in 2019 if that 2017 selection was conveyed to Philly.
Unfortunately for both teams, the Lakers moved up to No. 2. That prevented the Sixers from another top-10 pick and relegated the draft compensation owed to Orlando to two second round picks.
Frank has seen some shit. The beard is a sign of his inner-torment. pic.twitter.com/HESOAM1QUW
— Biz Markie Moon???? (@JumpinJackFlask) May 17, 2017
One of those second-rounders will be No. 33 in this year's draft, while the other will be a second round selection in 2018. Suffice it to say that doesn't quite measure up to an unprotected first-rounder, even if it would've been two years from now.
Combine that with dropping one spot from the fifth-best odds in the lotto to No. 6 in the official draft order and the 2017 NBA Draft Lottery wasn't a great experience for the Magic.
May 17, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker 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
Winner: Sacramento Kings
Despite not one, not two but THREE buffoonish past trades that could've really screwed them over in this year's draft lottery, the Sacramento Kings emerged relatively unscathed.
Sure, the Kings moved up from the eighth spot all the way to No. 3, which sucks because they had to give that pick up to the 76ers courtesy of the idiotic Carl Landry, Jason Thompson and Nik Stauskas salary dump of 2015 (which the Kings did so they could use their cap space on Rajon Rondo, Kosta Koufos and Marco Belinelli in free agency). Missing out on Markelle Fultz, Lonzo Ball or Josh Jackson because of THAT dumpster fire obviously hurts.
But it wasn't as bad as it could've been. Can you imagine if the Kings had earned the No. 1 or the No. 2 overall pick and had to give it up to Philly because of that pick swap? Considering Sacramento only fell from No. 3 to Philadelphia's No. 5 selection, both were a step up from the Kings' most likely landing spot at No. 8.
By staying within the top-10, Sacramento also avoided having to send their first-rounder to the Chicago Bulls. That conveyed pick will now turn into the 38th selection in this year's draft, and the Kings get to choose again at No. 10 thanks to the DeMarcus Cousins trade — avoiding the idiotic top-three protection the New Orleans Pelicans somehow persuaded Sacramento into putting on it.
Past blunders aside, selecting at No. 5 and No. 10 in such a talent-heavy draft is pretty solid, leaving the Kings with plenty of opportunity to select two quality players and a new franchise point guard.
Loser: Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns were unequivocally the biggest losers of the 2017 NBA Draft. General manager Ryan McDonough put on his best happy face, citing the team's nearly 32 percent chance of falling to No. 4, but this was an undeniably crushing blow to a fanbase that's been on Prozac since Steve Nash left.
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After finishing with the second-worst association, this was a result that was as thoroughly disappointing as it was predictable.
A franchise that's never won the No. 1 overall pick or an NBA championship in nearly 50 years doesn't need the first pick in the draft while it's in the middle of a rebuild centered around youth, right? Not when the Kings can randomly jump into the top-three and the Lakers can move up to make sure they get their boy in Lonzo Ball!
Stop me if you've heard this one before, but the Suns got screwed by the Lakers. If there's any karma in the NBA world, Josh Jackson will somehow fall to Phoenix at No. 4 in the draft, but knowing this team's luck, definitely don't count on it.
If you don't think this is getting old, just take a gander at the Twitter reaction:
Devin Booker's reaction pretty much sums up what it's like to be a #Suns fan #NBADraftLottery pic.twitter.com/lCyj91vkRO
— Brian Swane (@BrianSwane) May 17, 2017
Next: Winner - 76ers; Loser - Karma
Feb 10, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie prior to a game against the Sacramento Kings at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Winner: Philadelphia 76ers
In a best-case scenario where the Kings won the lottery and the Lakers fell out of the top three, the Philadelphia 76ers could've wound up with the No. 1 and No. 4 overall picks. That didn't happen, but the Sixers can definitely live with the end result.
Though Philly won't get that potentially valuable pick from the Lakers this year, they get an unprotected pick from L.A. in 2018. Barring some kind of drastic free agency turnaround, the Lakers will still be one of the worst teams in the association next year. Who's to say the Sixers won't snag another top-three pick from Los Angeles next year?
In addition to that 2018 first-rounder, the 76ers moved up to No. 3, have four additional second-rounders to play with in this year's draft, will enjoy Sacramento's unprotected first-rounder in 2019 and have a potential first-rounder from OKC (top-20 protected) to look forward to, possibly as soon as 2020.
Oh, and they also have Joel Embiid, Dario Saric and Ben Simmons. Assuming Embiid and Simmons can return healthy, this young core has an exceedingly bright future.
Loser: Karma
Once again, the basketball gods turned their backs on the NBA Draft Lottery.
Why reward a team like the Suns — the longest-tenured NBA franchise to never win a title AND the longest-tenured NBA franchise to never earn the No. 1 overall pick — with a top-two pick despite having the second-best odds at the No. 1 selection?
Why save the New York Knicks from their incompetent owner when you can drop them an extra spot to pour salt in the wound? Why reward the Dallas Mavericks for years of fielding a competitive roster and never tanking when you can leave them be at No. 9 and let Dirk Nowitzki continue to fade away?
Don't feed me this B.S. about a five-game win streak being "karma" either. Karma left the NBA Draft Lottery YEARS ago.
But no basketball gods, you're right, let's give the top two picks to two franchises that account for 33 of the NBA's 70 championships!
Let's allow the Kings' last decade of idiotic decisions go unpunished by gifting them with two top-10 picks, even after they just shipped DeMarcus Cousins away for a worse trade package than the Flint Tropics had to give up for Ed Monix!
Hell, let's round out the top three picks by rewarding the actions of Sam Hinkie, a man who blatantly held up a middle finger to your face for three years, challenging the competitive spirit of the game and everything we knew about modern tanking in the Process…AND THEN REWARD HIS EFFORTS WHEN HE'S NOT EVEN AROUND TO ENJOY THE FRUITS OF HIS LABOR!
Again, not saying the NBA Draft Lottery is rigged. But good God is it a soulless, heartless, cold-blooded b***h sometimes.
