The New Jersey Nets have more reason than most NBA teams to hope for NBA lottery luck: If the Nets' pick is top three, they will keep it. If not, they will be forced to surrender the selection to the Portland Trail Blazers in completion of the Gerald Wallace trade.
Given that the Nets finished the season tied for the fifth-worst record, they have a 25.3 percent chance of landing in the top three. In other words, they have a 25.3 percent chance of keeping their lottery selection in one of the deepest drafts in years.
A table of NBA lottery odds follows, courtesy of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer:
| Team | W | L | Win ave. |
No. 1 pick chance |
No. 2 pick chance |
No. 3 pick chance |
Somewhere in top 3 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charlotte | 7 | 59 | 0.106 | 25.0% | 21.5% | 17.8% | 64.3% |
| 2 | Washington | 20 | 46 | 0.303 | 19.9% | 18.8% | 17.1% | 55.8% |
| 3 | Cleveland | 21 | 45 | 0.318 | 13.8% | 14.2% | 14.4% | 42.4% |
| (tie) | New Orleans | 21 | 45 | 0.318 | 13.8% | 14.2% | 14.4% | 42.4% |
| 5 | Sacramento | 22 | 44 | 0.333 | 7.6% | 8.4% | 9.4% | 25.3% |
| (tie) | New Jersey | 22 | 44 | 0.333 | 7.6% | 8.4% | 9.4% | 25.3% |
| 7 | Toronto | 23 | 43 | 0.348 | 3.6% | 4.1% | 4.8% | 12.5% |
| (tie) | Golden State | 23 | 43 | 0.348 | 3.6% | 4.1% | 4.8% | 12.5% |
| 9 | Detroit | 25 | 41 | 0.379 | 1.7% | 2.0% | 2.4% | 6.1% |
| 10 | Minnesota | 26 | 40 | 0.394 | 1.1% | 1.3% | 1.6% | 4.0% |
| 11 | Portland | 28 | 38 | 0.424 | 0.8% | 0.9% | 1.2% | 2.9% |
| 12 | Milwaukee | 31 | 35 | 0.470 | 0.7% | 0.8% | 1.0% | 2.5% |
| 13 | Phoenix | 33 | 33 | 0.500 | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.9% | 2.2% |
| 14 | Houston | 34 | 32 | 0.515 | 0.5% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 1.8% |
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