Watch CBS News

Bulls Are In Line For No. 14 Pick In NBA Draft

By Cody Westerlund--

(CBS) By virtue of their 115-105 win against the 76ers in Wednesday evening's season finale, the Bulls will have the lowest odds in the NBA Draft lottery and are in line to have the No. 14 pick unless they are blessed with great ping-pong ball luck.

Chicago's win moved it to 42-40, which is the best record among the 14 lottery teams. The Bulls had been eliminated from playoff contention Sunday evening.

The Bulls will have five of the 1,000 possible lottery combinations, giving them a 0.5 percent chance of nabbing the top pick. The lottery decides the top three picks, with the rest of the draft order falling in line from worst record on down. Chicago has about a 0.6 percent chance at nabbing the No. 2 pick and a 0.7 percent shot at getting the No. 3 selection.

The Bulls vaulted from the No. 9 spot to No. 1 with 1.7-percent odds in 2008, then drafted Derrick Rose with the first overall pick.

The Kings owe the Bulls a first-round pick, but it's top-10 protected. As of now, that looks unlikely to convey, because Sacramento's tied for the eighth-worst record in the league. The Kings will be a part of a three-team random drawing to decide the 8-9-10 spots in the allotment of lottery combinations. Even if they slip to the No. 10 spot, a team between 11 and 14 would still have to jump the the Kings to push them out of the top 10 and their pick to the Bulls.

If that Kings pick isn't conveyed to the Bulls this season, it rolls over to 2017, where it's again top-10 protected.

The NBA Draft lottery will take place May 17. The draft will take place June 23.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.