How did the Cavaliers end up with the first pick?
On Feb. 24, just before the NBA non-waiver trading deadline, the Cavaliers traded point guard Mo Williams and forward Jamario Moon to the Clippers for point guard Baron Davis and the Clippers’ first-round pick in this draft. The order of the draft is determined by the teams’ win-loss records, in reverse. The Clippers had the eighth worst win-loss record last season, so the first-rounder they had owned had the eighth-best chance of winning the first pick in the draft lottery. That chance, though, inherited by the Cavaliers with the trade, was just 2.8 percent. The ping pong balls in the lottery hopper, though, “fell the Cavs’ way,” and they won that first pick. The Cavaliers’ win-loss record was the NBA’s second-worst last season, thus they had the second-best chance to win the lottery via that pick. That chance was 19.9 percent. The Cavaliers’ own, original pick worked out at No. 4 on lottery night, giving them the fourth pick.
