Sixers: Everything you need to know about the NBA Lottery

On Tuesday, Joel Embiid will be representing the Sixers at the event that has transpired into a holiday for Sixers fans. With several consecutive losing seasons, it is quite fitting that “The Process” himself will be the one representing the team at one of their biggest lotteries to date.

The NBA Draft Lottery is easily one of the most important days of the season. For the teams that missed the playoffs, this could be one of their only chances to add high quality talent to their rosters.The Sixers are clearly one of these losing teams.

Despite having a better season than most expected, they will be in the lottery once again.While some fans may become disinterested in the NBA Draft Lottery, it is important to recognize how much of an impact it can have on an NBA franchise.

Let’s just take a look at how the lottery has affected the Sixers over the past couple years.

2010 NBA Draft:

#1 Pick – John Wall (Washington Wizards)

#2 Pick – Evan Turner (Philadelphia 76ers)

2011 NBA Draft:

#15 Pick – Kawhi Leonard (Indiana Pacers)

#16 Pick – Nikola Vucevic (Philadelphia 76ers)

2013 NBA Draft:

#10 Pick – C.J. McCollum (Portland Trail Blazers)

#11 Pick – Michael Carter-Williams (Philadelphia 76ers)

2015 NBA Draft:

#2 Pick – D’Angelo Russell (Los Angeles Lakers)

#3 Pick – Jahlil Okafor (Philadelphia 76ers)

As you can see, the lottery is kind of a really big deal. So what does the situation look like for the Sixers this year? First of all, it’s important to note that due to the Sixers finishing with the 4th-worst record in the league, the lowest pick their first rounder can become is 7th overall.

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According to Tankathon, the Sixers have a 37.8% chance of acquiring a top-3 pick in the lottery, and an 11.9% chance of acquiring the first overall pick.

While this may seem fairly simple, it gets a little more complicated due to a trade with the Kings that sent Nik Stauskas, Carl Landry, Jason Thompson and conditional picks to the Sixers (Thanks Hinkie).

One of the pieces in that trade was the rights to swap first round picks with Kings in 2017. If the Kings end up getting a better pick than the Sixers, they will have be able to swap picks, thereby giving the Sixers an even greater chance of acquiring a top pick in this year’s draft.

The Kings have have a 9.9% chance of acquiring a top 3 pick, and a 2.8% chance of acquiring the first overall pick. When you combine these numbers with the Sixers numbers, there’s a 47.7% chance the Sixers land in the top 3, and a 14.7% chance they get the first overall.

Those are some nice odds when considering the Sixers more than doubled their win total from last year, and still have a chance at getting yet another great pick.

But it doesn’t end here.

The Sixers have a chance of landing another pick between 4 and 6 via the Los Angeles Lakers. This comes from the Michael Carter-Williams trade that will send the 76ers a 2017 top-3 protected draft or an unprotected pick in 2018.

The Lakers currently possess a 46.9% chance of acquiring a pick in the top-3. Meaning that the Sixers have a 53.1% chance of getting the pick from the Lakers.

The best case scenario for Philadelphia would be acquiring the #1 and #3 pick (via the Lakers). This would give the front office a chance to grab two prospects with transcendent NBA talent, or even the possibility to trade some of these assets for a proven NBA star.

However, there is also a realistic possibility that the Sixers may only end up with one pick. Not only that, this pick could very well end up outside of the top 5, where most of the top prospects will probably be off the board.

Next: Future Assets Give Sixers Leverage Now

Regardless of what happens on Tuesday, the Sixers will ultimately have the ability to add some new talent to their roster this summer and continue to improve their basketball team. You can watch the NBA Draft Lottery on ESPN on Tuesday, May 6th at 8PM ET.