Pat Williams was the Magic representative when we got both our No. 1 picks in previous Draft Lotterys. This year, he will represent us again as we have a 25% chance of getting that first pick again. He sat down with the media on the Friday before the Lottery to talk a little more about his experiences.

Here are the two ping-pong balls from our trophy case. These are two celebrated little guys in Central Florida. They are willing to share space with a third friend. They are willing to give up some of their glory, we had to do a little negotiating, but they are willing to split it three ways.”

On how teams with the worst record have rarely received the top pick:
“I would view that as good news. I have to think there is going to be a little run here. If you did the lottery over a hundred year period I think there are going to be years when there are back-to-back worst record lottery winners. I would have to go talk to the MIT professors but aren’t we do for a little run here of poor record teams stringing together two or three victories? We’ll find out.”

“The problem is this: If they weigh the odds any more heavily than the 25%, I think there is a danger it will induce what we had back in 1984, a desire to not play well. That June, at the owners meeting, without a committee or task force, the coin-flip was buried. The lottery is a fine line and a dilemma for the league. The worst record should be rewarded. Orlando and Chicago should get the first two picks. But there is such a temptation in basketball, where one player means so much, that you will do whatever you have to in order to get that top pick. I think they probably have it tweaked to about as close a margin they can, but there is no perfect way of doing this, unless we win. If we win it is just a marvelous way of doing it.”

“All I can tell you is that we have a 25% chance. David Stern will be happy this year, I can report that. If we walk up and win, David will be happy, I’m not going to have to worry about him back peddling like he did in 1993, he’ll be glad to see us.”

On whether or not he is bringing a lucky charm or any kind:
“I’m convinced that given a choice of rabbit’s feet, four leaf clovers, or horseshoes, you are better off with a lot of ping-pong balls in the machine. Does that make sense? In other words, given a choice of 250 ping-pong balls and no rabbit’s feet, or 10 balls and eight rabbits feet, take the ping-pong balls. So I’m not bringing anything.”

“People have also talked about if I should wear the same clothes from the previous lottery winners. I could do that, because I have them. One on my hobbies is collecting old clothes, and wearing them, so I could do that. I’m still debating on what to wear, that is an issue. I’m not going to make that call until I pack.”

To what do you credit your lottery success:
“As Yankee pitcher Lefty Gomez said, “clean living and a fast outfield.” Well we’ve had two that we didn’t win since 1993. I went up went one time, and Doc Rivers went up the other time, and nothing special happen. My philosophy is that you always want to go when you have a lot of ping-pong balls. Next year if we’re back in it with only one or two balls, maybe they should look for someone else. With lots of balls though, you go. A friend of mind once sent me a quote from the Book of Proverbs that said, “Man rolls the dice. God determines the outcome.” So I guess maybe the best answer is a lot of prayer. It sure would be a nice lift for our franchise if we come away with a win here. I think it would give us all a jolt of encouragement. From October to April, that is a long ride we went through. Lots of long nights, lots of discouraging times. The reward for all that comes from in one brief flash. You think about the coaches and executives who have lives, careers, futures, hanging on the balance of a ping-pong ball, talk about a fragile business.”

On the impact a number one pick can have:
“I was speaking in Ohio last week, and they are still glowing over their season, and LeBron. It is staggering to me to see this euphoria that hovers over Northern Ohio. Keep in mind a year ago that franchise was on its death bed. You talk about a franchise on life support. Were they even going to make it? There would be no hope at all, and one ping-pong ball regenerated an entire region. I’ve never seen such enthusiasm and joy over a franchise that I saw in Ohio.”

“All I know is the higher you pick the better your odds of getting a productive player. Worst case, we pick fifth, which is the highest we’ve picked in five years, they isn’t too bad. We’ll come out of it with a good player, and a win would mean a lot to us psychologically. Once we get through Wednesday night comes four weeks of interviewing, workouts, discussion.”