After Tuesday night, the road there will be a lot rockier than the team hoped. Detroit wants to be competitive very soon. Hopefully, the Pistons will find someone who can complement Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey on the wing. There’s still plenty of talent available at the no. Now, their rebuild will take much longer than Wembanyama would’ve allowed. They had the highest possible odds (14 percent) to win this thing and instead fell all the way down to five. The Pistons lost a league-high 65 games last season, five more than any other team. The lottery was a nightmare, worst-case scenario for Detroit. It’s a blessed time to be a Spurs fan … again. For a team that’s won five titles since 1999 and had the privilege of drafting David Robinson and Tim Duncan, today easily feels like one of the 10 greatest nights since it joined the NBA. The Spurs’ new $500 million practice facility wins. Um, I don’t know how much elaboration is needed here. Let’s recap who’s celebrating and who feels like crawling into a hole. Victor Wembanyama and a pool of awesome, young players who aren’t Victor Wembanyama. That’s what these specific lotteries, the historic ones that change the league, are all about. Your home for Wembanyama Watch and everything else related to the draft (Don’t worry, everything eventually turned out OK for the Heat.) This was an appropriate time to express instant regret instead of a polite smile. When NBA deputy commissioner Russ Granik announced that the Heat would have the fifth pick, ABC’s broadcast cut to Miami representative Caron Butler, who rolled his eyes and shook his head. Steam seeped out of Jerry West’s ears after the Memphis Grizzlies went from potentially landing one of the most celebrated prospects in basketball history to having zilch. Back in 2003, everyone’s reaction to learning they wouldn’t get James was transparent. But for all 13 teams that weren’t as lucky as the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night, it’s easy to feel the immediate agony. On these nights, it’s hard to process in real time just how important the winning declaration will be. A very special few, like the one we just witnessed, included a franchise-altering prize-be it LeBron James, Blake Griffin, Anthony Davis, Zion Williamson, or Victor Wembanyama-with enough talent and promise to transcend stakes that are already sky-high. Some were more forgettable than others, though. The league has held 38 lotteries, and all of them have mattered. “You know, we don’t know who we’re gonna pick yet.” Twenty years ago, that classic one-liner spilled out of a grinning Gordon Gund, moments after the former Cavaliers owner learned on national television that his team had won the most consequential draft lottery in NBA history.
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