Indiana Pacers win random draft drawing over Washington Wizards, see unwelcomed results elsewhere
The NBA performed a random drawing to break standings ties for NBA Draft positioning on Monday. For the Indiana Pacers, this was a significant event.
The Pacers had four different tiebreakers that they were invested in. One was their own standings tie with the Washington Wizards as both teams finished with a 35-47 record. The winner of the drawing between the two teams would finish higher in the pre-lottery draft order, and they would remain higher in the post-lottery order if neither team jumped into the top-four picks on NBA Draft Lottery night.
The Pacers won that drawing, meaning they will be seventh in the pre-lottery draft order. That's great for the Pacers, who now have one more ping pong ball combination than the Wizards (68 vs 67) to jump up via the lottery. Indiana's own first-round pick can now end up being anywhere between 1-4 as well as 7-11.
The second significant tiebreaker for the Pacers was the tiebreaker between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Memphis Grizzlies. Indiana actually owns both of Cleveland's picks in the 2023 draft.
If the Cavaliers won the drawing, their first-round pick would be better than the Grizzlies and their second-round pick would be worse. The inverse would be true if Memphis won the drawing.
The two teams were tied with a 51-31 record, and the coin flip was to determine which team would pick 25th. In the end, Memphis won the drawing, which is what the Pacers didn't want to see. That means Indiana will own the 26th and 55th picks in the 2023 NBA Draft via Cleveland.
The third tiebreaker that the blue and gold were interested in was between the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs. The Pacers will receive the Houston Rockets second-round pick if it ends up 32nd, but if the Houston selection is 33rd, then it goes to the Boston Celtics. In the scenario where it goes to Boston, the Pacers would instead receive the Miami Heat's second-round pick (more on them later).
Both Houston and San Antonio finished tied for the second-worst record in the league at 22-60. Whichever team ends up with a better first-round pick will have a worse second-round selection between the two teams, so the Pacers are hoping that the Spurs own first-round pick ends up being better than the Rockets.
The Draft Lottery will determine where those two teams ultimately end up, so the Pacers won't know the fate of their second-round pick until May 16. But they still had hopes of San Antonio winning the random drawing over Houston. In that case, the Spurs would have a better first-round pick if neither team jumped up in the lottery, and while that is unlikely, it's possible and would benefit the Pacers.
In the end, the Rockets won that random drawing. Indiana won't be thrilled about that, but they won't know if they get the 32nd pick or not until the night of the lottery. They will of course be rooting for themselves that night, but they will also be rooting for the Spurs to finish ahead of the Rockets once the ping pong balls have settled.
The final tiebreaker Indiana was invested in was between the Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors, and Los Angeles Clippers. As mentioned above, the Pacers get the Heat's second-round pick if they don't get Houston's. As a result, the best outcome for the Pacers would have been the Heat losing their random drawing and getting the worst first-round pick of the three 44-38 teams and thus the best second rounder.
In the end, the Heat won their tiebreaker. Their picks are locked in to 18 and 50. That means the Pacers will either get pick 32 via Houston or pick 50 via Miami. It won't be known until May 16.
Prior to the random drawings, it was already determined that the Pacers possess the 29th overall pick. They acquired it from the Boston Celtics last summer. Now, that pick as well as the 26th and 55th pick are locked into place. Indiana's final two pick slots will be determined on lottery night. Their own first round pick could be any of eight different numbers, and their best second-round pick will either be 32 or 50.
The NBA Draft Lottery is on May 16 and the 2023 NBA Draft will take place on June 22.
- Tyrese Haliburton is a partner with the Indiana Pacers franchise, and the team doesn't think a contract extension will be complicated. CLICK HERE.
- Indiana Pacers President Kevin Pritchard knows he must toe the fine line between neutral and accelerating. CLICK HERE.
- Indiana Pacers exit interviews: Jalen Smith struggled at power forward, and that will help going forward. CLICK HERE.
- Indiana Pacers will have draft positioning decided by random drawings. CLICK HERE.
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