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What's the story?
The 2019 NBA Draft Lottery has just concluded and we now know where Zion Williamson will potentially be playing next season. Coming into the lottery with a 6% chance of landing the first overall pick, it is the New Orleans Pelicans who have ended up winning the sweepstakes and will pick first on June 20.
In case you didn't know...
The NBA changed the lottery odds at the beginning of the 2018-19 season. Originally, the team finishing with the worst record in the NBA would have a 25% odds of receiving the number one overall pick. However, coming into the 2019 edition of the lottery, the worst three teams would all be having a 14% chance of winning the number one overall pick.
This meant that most of the 14 teams coming into the lottery would be having a fair chance of landing the number one overall pick. What it also meant was that tanking to get the worst record in the league would not translate to getting the first pick as has been the case in the past seasons.
The heart of the matter
With a lot of elite level talent potentially entering the free agency market at the end of this season, the 2019 NBA Draft Lottery had the potential to change the landscape of the league. Having the first overall pick would a huge asset as it virtually meant landing Duke's Zion Williamson.
The New York Knicks had the worst record in the NBA in the 2018-19 season at 17-65 and with them having the cap space to hand out huge deals to Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, a new 3-headed monster could emerge in the East had the Knicks won the draft lottery. But the New York franchise could only go as high as the 3rd overall pick.
The Pelicans won the first overall pick and now have a huge bargaining chip to make Anthony Davis stay as they will look to bring the talents of Zion to the Smoothie King Center. Memphis notched up the 2nd overall pick and they could potentially be drafting Mike Conley's successor in Murray State's Ja Morant.
Without much further ado, let us have a look at all the top 14 picks as revealed by the 2019 NBA Draft Lottery:
Pick #1 New Orleans Pelicans
Pick #2 Memphis Grizzlies
Pick #3 New York Knicks
Pick #4 Los Angeles Lakers
Pick #5 Cleveland Cavaliers
Pick #6 Phoenix Suns
Pick #7 Chicago Bulls
Pick #8 Atlanta Hawks
Pick #9 Washington Wizards
Pick #10 Atlanta Hawks (from Dallas Mavericks)
Pick #11 Minnesota Timberwolves
Pick #12 Charlotte Hornets
Pick #13 Miami Heat
Pick #14 Boston Celtics (from Sacramento Kings)
What's next?
It goes without saying that the Pelicans are the biggest winners of the lottery. Not only do they have a better chance of convincing The Brow to stay, but they also have the ability to draft a powerhouse of a player in Zion.
For the Knicks though, things don't look that great. A lot of effort will be needed now by the franchise's front office in order to land Durant and Irving in free agency.
