Though optimism was running high amongst Sonics fans, as evidenced by the 15% of fans who predicted in a SUPERSONICS.COM poll that the Sonics would end up with the first pick, General Manager Rick Sund was realistic. Knowing the odds were strongly against the Sonics moving into the lottery’s top three, Sund – who represented the Sonics during the national telecast of yesterday’s NBA Draft Lottery – was just hoping to stay put.

Sonics General Manager Rick Sund at the NBA Draft Lottery. Jennifer Pottheiser/NBAE/Getty

“The worst scenario was (falling back) and picking 13 and not having Milwaukee's pick,” Sund told media during a post-lottery conference call. He got his wish, as the odds played out from the Sonics end. Not only did they stay put in their 12th position in the draft, but the Atlanta Hawks did not move up either, meaning the Sonics will get Milwaukee’s pick, 14th overall, to complete February’s blockbuster five-player trade between the teams.

With the draft order set, the Sonics are the only team with multiple picks amongst the top 15 in the 2003 Draft. That, Sund said last week, gives the team flexibility. “You might take the best player available. Rather than take the best player, you might say, ‘Well, let’s not take the best player one pick, let’s fill a need.’ You might say, ‘Let’s take a player who’s in Europe and wait on him.’ By having two picks, you’ve got some flexibility.”

Next for the Sonics is beginning the process of evaluating potential picks. The team is scheduled to begin individual workouts next week. From June 3-6, Sonics personnel will travel to Chicago for the annual pre-draft camp held at the Moody Bible Institute, considered the most prestigious pre-draft camp.

The odds generally played themselves out through the rest of the lottery as well. That started at the top, where the Cleveland Cavaliers became the first team since the NBA went to a probability-based system to win the lottery with the previous season’s worst record. It was excellent news for the Cavaliers, who now have the opportunity to rebuild around Akron, Ohio native LeBron James.

The lottery’s biggest winners were the Detroit Pistons, who held the rights to Memphis’ pick as long as it was not the first pick, thanks to a trade made by Sund when he was Detroit’s Vice President of Basketball Operations. That created drama when the Grizzlies were amongst the last two teams left. It was number one pick or bust for Memphis and they busted, leaving the Pistons in position to add a top prospect to a team that is already in this year’s Eastern Conference Finals.

The Denver Nuggets, who tied with the Cavaliers for the worst record in the NBA last season, will pick third. Considering the apparent drop-off between the talent level at the third pick and the fourth pick, the lottery’s biggest losers might have been the Toronto Raptors, who entered in third position but left with pick four. Miami, the L.A. Clippers, Chicago, Milwaukee (from Atlanta), New York, Washington, Golden State, the Sonics and Memphis (from Houston) round out the order of the lottery. The NBA Draft will be held on June 26.