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SALT LAKE CITY — It's officially draft season.
With a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday in the season finale, the Utah Jazz finished with a 37-45 record, the ninth worst record in the league.
That gives them a 20.3% chance at getting a top-four pick at next month's draft lottery, and a 4.5% chance at the No. 1 overall pick. But those chances might increase over the next week.
The Minnesota Timberwolves, whose pick will go to the Jazz, survived Rudy Gobert swinging at a teammate and getting sent home, and also Jaden McDaniels fracturing his hand after punching a wall to beat the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday to slide into the eighth seed for the play-in tournament. That means the Wolves will get two chances to win one game to make the playoffs.
If they don't, though, the Jazz will get another lottery pick — likely No. 14 — but could land in a tie for 12th depending on how the play-in tournament ends up. Depending on how the play-in tournament shakes out, the Wolves pick could land anywhere from 12 to 16, pre-lottery.
The 14th pick in the lottery has a 2.4% chance of moving into the top four; 13th has a 4.7% chance; 12th has a 7% chance.
If there is a tie — and there could be one between the Wolves and Pelicans if they both don't get through the play-in tournament — draft selections are determined by a random drawing; however, they split lottery ping pong balls evenly, and any odd remainder and the better draft order position are given to the random drawing winner.
The lottery will be held on May 16 at the draft combine in Chicago.
But, wait, there's more: Utah's final first-round selection is now official. Utah will get the No. 28 selection from the Royce O'Neale trade last summer. The Jazz got the least favorable pick between Houston, Brooklyn and Philadelphia.
Utah Jazz's pre-lottery draft picks
- No. 9
- No. 16 (via Minnesota)
- No. 28 (via Brooklyn from Philadelphia)
