Ping Pong Balls May Mean Big Move For One NBA Team

The Oklahoma City Thunder have a lot of ping pong balls bouncing around in the NBA Draft Lottery hopper, which will be flipped on Tuesday night in beautiful Secaucus, New Jersey. The Thunder had the fourth worst record in the league, so they have an 11.9% chance of getting Blake Griffin. Well, technically they just get the top pick, but we all know who that will be.

Okalahoma City also has a pretty good young roster. Kevin Durant is fast becoming one of the best pure scorers in the league. Russell Westbrook looks like the real deal in the backcourt. Jeff Green has talent. You can see how they will be a good team in a few years.

And a top-two pick would do a lot to speed up the franchise’s assent. The Thunder are not alone, there are a few teams high up in the lottery odds that could take a fast step forward with another top pick.

Getting one of the top two spots in this draft is key — Griffin and sensational Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio are going to be very good NBA players (as much as one can tell these things). The consensus is after those two, there is a drop off to a lot of solid guys but nobody who is going to make a big impact as a rookie. There are bound to be a couple other breakout players in this draft class, but that will be more about scouting than luck.

The Sacramento Kings could use some luck after a 17-win season, worst in the NBA. They have the best chance of landing the top pick — 25% — and they need a good big man like Griffin. They have a quality scorer in Kevin Martin surrounded by a series of ill-fitting parts. Either Griffin or Rubio would jumpstart the rebuilding process in California’s capital.

Perennial draft lottery attendees the Los Angeles Clippers are another team with a roster that should be better than 19 wins. Baron Davis is still one of the best point guards in the game, while youngsters Al Thorton and Eric Gordon should help the team improve no matter what. Zach Randolph can score (and give up baskets on the other end at the same pace). Whatever happens, the Clippers should improve next year, and it could be a lot with a couple of lucky ping pong ball bounces.

Washington is in the mix (17.8% chance of getting the top pick), while the Timberwolves and Memphis Grizzlies each have about 7.5%. Again, these are teams with some talent that could get a big boost from a top-two pick.

These were some bad teams during the regular season, but all had a few pieces to build on. Get a lucky ping pong ball bounce and one of these team’s GM will suddenly look smart — which is not how they looked this past regular season when they earned all these ping pong balls.
 

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