Lotteries in most states have three to six winning numbers. The winning number in Sunday's NBA Draft lottery could be 7-6.
That's the height of Shawn Bradley, who set the NCAA freshman shot-blocking record for Brigham Young University two years ago, then went on a Mormon mission to Australia.Rather than return to BYU for another year or two of developing his game, Bradley chose to make himself available to play in the NBA with guys closer to his size, like 7-7 Manute Bol and 7-4 Rik Smits.
That brings to mind the question going through the minds of the player personnel directors of the 11 non-playoff teams in the lottery.
Is this guy Bradley another Bol, or is he another Bill Russell who's nine inches taller?
Bol, of course, has blocked a lot of shots and has played eight years in the NBA as a second-round pick. But, as Charles Barkley once said of him, Bol has trouble scoring and rebounding when he's working out alone.
Bradley, however, is pegged as a different kind of 7-6. Despite his one year at BYU and two years of little basketball work, it's said that Bradley is "Manute Bol with skills."
Most of the 11 lottery teams are non-committal about who they would take if their lottery ping-pong ball comes up No. 1, especially since Michigan's Chris Webber announced his draft availability. Others can't resist the lure of a 71/2-footer.
"He's not just a shot-blocker," said Golden State general manager-coach Don Nelson, who's been looking for a center-savior for years. "He's got great hands, he can pass, he can score from outside or in the box and he can make free throws. He's an amazing tall person. I don't think we've ever seen a guy like him in the league."
"If we win, we won't be holding up a jersey with anyone's name on it," Sacramento general manager Jerry Reynolds said. "But whoever gets the first pick has to consider Shawn Bradley. He's 7-6 and people don't start shrinking until their 60s. He might even play that long. At 7-6, you might slow down, but you won't get any shorter. His weight and strength are a factor, but they can be improved. Height can't be improved."
Bradley is listed at 235 pounds, 65 less than 7-1 Rookie of the Year Shaquille O'Neal, for whom everyone brought a jersey to the lottery in 1992. Reports have surfaced of a 40-pound weight gain in Australia, but they haven't been confirmed.
"More than any player in recent years, he's going to have to prove himself in workouts with the teams that finish high in the lottery," Reynolds said.
Another team very high on Bradley is the Milwaukee Bucks.
"We would have to find a very good reason not to take him," Bucks player personnel director Lee Rose said. "There would have to be a major red flag come up in interviews or workouts. There's no question he's destined to be a player in the NBA. He's not just 7-6."
Bradley and Webber are two of five undergraduates who will be drafted high by lottery teams. They are joined by Jamal Mashburn of Kentucky, Anfernee Hardaway of Memphis State and Rodney Rogers of Wake Forest.
The top seniors could be Calbert Cheaney of Indiana and J.R. Rider, who played just two years at UNLV.
"It's a unique situation where the top five picks might be undergraduates," said Washington's assistant general manager, Chuck Douglas.
Douglas was typical of the lottery teams when he said, "We're not quite ready to commit ourselves. If we get one of the top three picks, we'll watch every game Bradley's played, bring him in to work out and use every ounce of time we have."
The 11 teams in Sunday's lottery each will have a number of ping-pong balls with their team logos. Three balls will be drawn from a bin, determining the top three picks in the NBA draft on June 30, with the rest of the teams drafting in reverse order of record.
Dallas, the worst team in the NBA with an 11-71 record this season, has 11 balls; Minnesota, the next worst at 19-63, has 10 balls; Washington, at 22-60, has nine; and so on down to Orlando, the best non-playoff team at 41-41, with one ball.
Sacramento has eight balls, Philadelphia seven, Milwaukee six, Golden State five, Denver four, Miami three and Detroit two. The Pistons, because of a past trade, will get the Heat's pick unless it's one of the top three.
"If we win the lottery, it will be like World War III breaking out with Switzerland winning," Magic general manager Pat Williams said. "Our ball is totally overmatched."
Center is not a problem for Williams because he won the lottery a year ago and drafted O'Neal, but he said he's looking forward to Sunday.
"It's the Super Bowl of the teams that didn't make the playoffs," he said.
Rick Majerus, coach at the University of Utah, has a warning for any lottery team thinking of skipping Bradley:
"The biggest mistake since not drafting Michael Jordan would be passing on Shawn Bradley."
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Lottery trivia
"Eighty-six that draft"
The 1986 NBA Draft lottery produced the following results: a team trading its chance at the No. 1 pick, a draft pick dying from a drug overdose, another player being banned from the NBA because of substance abuse; and three players having since dropped out of the league. One NBA spokesman, obviously with tongue in cheek, recently called it "the lottery we're most proud of."
Here are the seven teams and their selections:
1. Cleveland (the Cavs traded Roy Hinson and cash to get the pick from Philadelphia), Brad Daugherty.
2. Boston, Len Bias - deceased.
3. Golden State, Chris Washburn - no longer in the NBA.
4. Indiana, Chuck Person - since traded to Minnesota.
5. New York, Kenny Walker - no longer in the NBA.
6. Phoenix, William Bedford - no longer in the NBA.
7. Dallas, Roy Tarpley - banned.
The '87 shuffle
The 1987 NBA Draft featured what could be considered "the most-traveled lottery," with San Antonio's David Robinson the only one of the first seven selections still playing with his original team. However, the Spurs still had to wait two years while "The Admiral" completed his obligation with the U.S. Navy.
1. San Antonio, David Robinson.
2. Phoenix, Armon Gilliam - later traded to Charlotte and Philadelphia.
3. New Jersey, Dennis Hopson - later traded to Chicago and Sacramento before dropping out of the NBA.
4. Los Angeles Clippers, Reggie Williams - later traded to Cleveland; signed as a free agent with San Antonio and Denver.
5. Seattle, Scottie Pippen - his rights traded to Chicago.
6. Sacramento, Kenny Smith - traded later to Atlanta and Houston.
7. Cleveland, Kevin Johnson - traded later to Phoenix.i
Lottery quiz
1. Which four teams have never participated in the NBA Draft lottery?
2. Which NBA team will be making its first-ever lottery pick this year?
3. Which two teams have participated in the past four lotteries and who are the players they each have picked?
4. Only two teams have enjoyed multiple picks in the same lottery - the Los Angeles Clippers picked first and sixth in 1988 and the Denver Nuggets selected fourth and eighth in 1991. Can you name the players drafted by the two?
5. Which university has produced the most lottery picks? Who are the four NBA-member alumni of that university?
6. The 1993 All-Star Game in Salt Lake City featured six of the previous eight No. 1 lottery picks - Patrick Ewing, Brad Daugherty, David Robinson, Danny Manning, Larry Johnson and Shaquille O'Neal. Who are the eight other former NBA Draft lottery picks who have earned All-Star status?
7. Which two teams have had the most picks - six each - during the previous eight lotteries.
8. In the 1988 NBA Draft, two teams swapped the rights to their lottery draftees. Name the teams and the players involved in the trade.
9. What three NBA teams didn't have a former lottery-selected player on its 1992-93 roster for at least part of the season?
10. Name the NBA team with the most former lottery-selected players on its 1992-93 roster and name the players.
Bonus question: Of the 70 lottery draftees, how many players have been traded from the teams that originally selected them?
Answers
1. Detroit, L.A. Lakers, Portland and Utah.
2. Detroit.
3. Charlotte (J.R. Reid, Kendall Gill, Larry Johnson and Alonzo Mourning) and Sacramento (Pervis Ellison, Lionel Simmons, Billy Owens and Walt Williams).
4. Clippers: Danny Manning and Hersey Hawkins. Nuggets: Dikembe Mutumbo and Mark Macon.
5. Georgetown - Patrick Ewing, Reggie Williams, Dikembe Mutumbo and Alonzo Mourning.
6. Xavier McDaniel, Chris Mullin, Scottie Pippen, Kevin Johnson, Mitch Richmond, Hersey Hawkins, Sean Elliott and Dikembe Mutumbo.
7. Sacramento and the L.A. Clippers
8. Philadelphia selected Charles Smith as the third pick overall, while the L.A. Clippers used the No. 6 selection (originally Sacramento's) to draft Hersey Hawkins. The Clippers then packaged Hawkins with its 1989 first-round pick to obtain Smith from the 76ers.
9. Detroit, Portland and Utah.
10. Denver - Reggie Williams (originally drafted by the Clippers), Chris Jackson, Dikembe Mutumbo, Mark Macon and LaPhonso Ellis.
Bonus answer: 25 - however, none of the 11 1992 Lottery draftees has been traded.