The Detroit Pistons will have the No. 1 overall pick of the 2021 NBA Draft. Detroit entered the Tuesday night’s Draft Lottery with the second-best odds, giving them a 14.0% chance for the No. 1 pick (the three-best odds all have a 14.0% chance at No. 1).
TFW YOU GET THE NUMBER ONE PICK#DETROITUP pic.twitter.com/0CNA0J2bxR
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) June 23, 2021
Detroit was followed in the order by the Houston Rockets at No. 2 (had the best odds), the Cleveland Cavaliers at No. 3 (had the fifth-best odds), and the Toronto Raptors at No. 4. Toronto moved all the way up from the seventh-best odds (had a 31.9% chance to move into the top-four.
The Orlando Magic (third-best odds) and Oklahoma City Thunder (fourth-best odds) fell out of the top-four, with Orlando dropping to fifth and Oklahoma City dropping to sixth. However, the Magic at least have two picks in the top-eight; they got the Chicago Bulls’ pick at No. 8 as part of the Nikola Vucevic trade (Chicago would’ve kept the pick if it landed in the top-four).
Additionally, the Golden State Warriors get the No. 7 pick from the Minnesota Timberwolves, as part of the D’Angelo Russell-Andrew Wiggins trade. Golden State picks seventh and 14th.
Swin Cash, the former WNBA star and current New Orleans Pelicans’ Vice President of Business Operations, wasn’t happy about the Pelicans getting the No. 10 pick.
Swin wasn't havin' it 😕 pic.twitter.com/ozK23Sssdu
— Ian Casselberry (@iancass) June 23, 2021
Here’s a look at top-14 following the Lottery:
The 2021 #NBADraftLottery order is set. pic.twitter.com/RwbXSwrmJ8
— NBA (@NBA) June 23, 2021
Oklahoma State point guard Cade Cunningham has been the favorite to be the top pick in the draft, but there are four other prospects that some evaluators may like as much or even more (especially depending on team fit, etc): Gonzaga point guard Jalen Suggs, USC center Evan Mobley, G League guard Jalen Green, G League forward Jonathan Kuminga.
And Cunningham will only visit the Pistons prior to the Draft, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski:
Sources: The plan for presumptive No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham will be to visit only one team prior to the NBA Draft on July 29: The Detroit Pistons.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 23, 2021
ESPN draft analyst and Draft Express founder Jonathan Givony released a mock draft shortly after the Lottery results:
Snap mock draft:
1 Pistons – Cade Cunningham
2 Rockets – Jalen Green
3 Cavaliers – Evan Mobley
4 Raptors – Jalen Suggs
5 Magic -Jonathan Kuminga
6 Thunder – Scottie Barnes
7 Warriors – Davion Mitchell
8 Magic – Keon Johnson
9 Kings – Franz Wagner— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) June 23, 2021
We’ll find out the draft results for sure on Thursday, July 29.
