The Draft Lottery

On Tuesday, NBA franchises learned their 2015 draft fate via the draft lottery.

The lottery determines the order of the top 14 draft picks, using random combinations and a lottery machine. The team with the worst regular season record has the highest odds winning the first pick, at 25 percent. The odds drop slightly for each better team record.

The lottery is a game-changer every year, leading to complete 180-degree turns for franchises.

It did just that, back in 2006. At a young age, I followed the Portland Trail Blazers’ every move. The “Jail Blazers” during that time were in desperate need of a fresh start, following a league-worst record of 21-61 in the 2005-2006 season.

As the balls bounced around the lottery hopper that day, I hoped for the No. 1 overall draft pick, seeing as my Blazers had the best odds. As the slots were announced, in reverse order, my excitement grew each time the Blazers weren’t named. That was until… “And the fourth overall pick goes to the Portland Trail Blazers.”

Slipping to fourth was disappointing, but what the Blazers did with this pick and the overall draft that June was nothing short of spectacular.

Before the draft, the Blazers acquired the rights of the Boston Celtics’ seventh overall pick, and veterans Raef LaFrentz and Dan Dickau, in exchange for Portland’s Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff, and a 2008 second-round draft pick.

The Blazers entered the 2006 draft with both the fourth and seventh selections.

With the first overall pick, the Toronto Raptors selected seven-footer Andrea Bargnani.

Next, the Chicago Bulls selected a power forward out of the University of Texas by the name of LaMarcus Aldridge.

The Charlotte Bobcats (now the Hornets) chose selected Gonzaga’s Adam Morrison next.

The Blazers seemingly then selected shot-blocking forward Tyrus Thomas out of LSU. But they immediately traded Thomas and forward Viktor Khryapa for Aldridge and a 2007 second-round draft pick.

A few selections later, the Blazers traded the rights of Randy Foye, whom they drafted seventh, to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for “The Natural”: Brandon Roy, the guard the T-Wolves had grabbed one pick earlier.

Three years later, the Blazers faced the Houston Rockets in the playoffs, ending a five-year postseason drought.

The impact of the 2006 draft lottery was huge for Portland. It brought both Aldridge and Roy to town. Aldridge, arguably the best power forward in the game today, was named Thursday to the All-NBA second team for 2014-15.

Roy, whose career ended short due a degenerative knee condition, made an immediate impact, changing the whole culture of Blazer basketball. After winning the Rookie of the Year award, he was a three time all-star and was named to the All-NBA second team back in 2008-09.

Let’s not forget about Damian Lillard, Meyers Leonard, and C.J. McCollum: all lottery players drafted by the Blazers in recent years whose impact could be felt for years to come.

With the 2015 lottery order now known, it will be interesting to see the turnaround of franchises.

The draft order: Minnesota, No. 1; Los Angeles Lakers, No. 2; 76ers, No. 3; Knicks, No. 4; Magic, No. 5; followed by the Kings, Nuggets, Pistons, Hornets, Heat, Pacers, Jazz, Suns, and finally, the Thunder, at No. 14.The Blazers won’t be drafting until No. 23.

With big names available such as Karl-Anthony Towns of Kentucky University, Jahlil Okafor of Duke University, and D’Angelo Russell of Ohio State, there is a lot of promise coming out of this draft, set for June 25.