SECAUCUS, N.J. – Michael Jordan finally won something with
the Washington Wizards – the NBA Draft Lottery.
The questions now are will the Wizards keep the top pick in
next month's draft, and if they do, will the No. 1 choice get a chance
to play with his boss.
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First-round order
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1. Washington
2. L.A. Clippers
3. Atlanta
4. Chicago
5. Golden State
6. Vancouver
7. New Jersey
8. Cleveland
9. Detroit
10. Boston
11. Denver
12. Seattle
13. Houston
14. Indiana
15. Orlando
16. Charlotte
17. Toronto
18. Houston (from New York through Phoenix and Orlando)
19. Portland
20. Cleveland (from Miami)
21. Denver (from Phoenix)
22. Houston (from Milwaukee)
23. Orlando (from Dallas)
24. Utah
25. Sacramento
26. Philadelphia
27. Vancouver (from L.A. Lakers through New York)
28. San Antonio
x-Minnesota (forfeited first-round pick)
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Jordan refused to shed light on either question Sunday evening
in a static-filled telephone conference call from the 12th fairway
of an undisclosed golf course after the Wizards posted their
biggest win in years.
"Right now I've been focusing on my job," Jordan said when
asked if the thought of playing with the top pick might influence
his decision on a return to the NBA.
Jordan, the Wizards president of basketball operations, was
thrilled seeing the Wizards beat the odds in jumping from the No. 3
spot to No. 1 in the pingpong ball lottery.
"When you're trying to build a team, you need some wild
cards," said Jordan, who led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles
before retiring after the 1997-98 season. He joined the Wizards as
a part-owner in January 2000.
"Having the No. 1 pick is a wild card," Jordan added. "You're
going to have some options thrown at you. We have an opportunity to
rebuild this franchise a lot quicker."
Having Jordan in the lineup would help, too. He has been working
out with fellow retiree Charles Barkley in recent months. Barkley
has hinted an announcement on their possible return will be made
this summer.
"We all know Charles, sometimes he gets his mouth running,"
said Jordan, the third pick overall in the 1984 draft.
The Wizards had the third-best chance of winning the lottery,
and the fact that they won wasn't surprising.
The team with the best chance of winning has now not won since
1990.
The Bulls, who had the best chance of winning with 250 of 1,000
chances, actually slipped to fourth in this lottery in which the
Los Angeles Clippers and Atlanta Hawks joined the Wizards in
beating the odds.
The Clippers, who only had 44 chances in the lottery, jumped from
eighth to second, while the Hawks (89 chances) moved from fifth to
third.
Chicago will have the fourth pick in the draft June 27 in New
York City. Golden State, which had the second-most chances with 200,
slipped to fifth, and it was followed by Vancouver, the New Jersey
Nets, Cleveland, Detroit, Boston, Denver, Seattle and Houston.
Jordan, who has seen Washington post a 36-89 record, including
19-63 this past season, made it a point not to watch the lottery
because he "didn't want to get excited about it."
The problem for the Wizards is there isn't a consensus No. l
pick in this draft.
In fact, the top player picked might end up being a high school
player. Eddy Curry of Thornwood High School in Illinois and Kwame
Brown of Glynn Academy in Georgia are highly regarded. Shane
Battier of national champion Duke and Eddie Griffin of Seton Hall,
one of a record 75 players to apply for early entry, are among the
top players coming from the college ranks.
Assistant general manager Rod Higgins, who represented the
Wizards at the lottery at the headquarters of NBA Entertainment,
indicated Washington might deal the pick.
"Now we have an opportunity to exercise some trades,
obviously," Higgins said. "There's not a Patrick Ewing; there's
not a Shaquille O'Neal."
Jordan wasn't so sure.
"Obviously we're going to have to evaluate our opportunities,"
said Jordan. "Right now if I had my druthers I'd rather keep the
pick."
In the lottery, pingpong balls numbered 1 through 14 are
placed in a drum and four are drawn to determine a four-digit
combination.
Washington, which had the third-best chance of winning at 15.7
percent, won when the combination 13-12-3-5 was drawn.
The Wizards, who haven't won a playoff game in 13 years, had
never moved up on lottery day before Sunday. One year, 1993, they
dropped the maximum three slots and chose sixth despite having the
third-worst record the season before.
The Clippers already have one of the youngest lineups in the
league with Lamar Odom (21), Quintin Richardson (21) and Darius
Miles (19) and Corey Maggette (21).
"From eighth to second is pretty good jump," coach Alvin
Gentry said. "It's a great draft for us. It gives us tremendous
flexibility. There are a lot of great players. We can always get
younger. We can move down or we can package it for a veteran
player."
Dominique Wilkins, the special assistant to the executive vice
president, said the Hawks will have some good options.
"There are no franchise players, but there are a lot of guys
who can come in and play an important role," he said.
The Nets beat the odds to win last year's lottery, jumping from
No. 7 to No. 1 overall. They selected Cincinnati
forward Kenyon Martin with the top pick.
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