Dec 5, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; NBA Commissioner David Stern talks to the media before a game between the New Orleans Hornets and the Los Angeles Lakers at the New Orleans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

It’s lottery day! Be sure to watch on ESPN at 5:30pm PST if you can. If not, we’ll have the results for you shortly after, right here on Rip City Project. In the meantime, here is everything you need to know about this year’s lottery setup.

The flight of the ping pong balls will be facilitated in a backroom by Commissioner, David Stern. Before the annual conspiracy theorists rear their heads, I should mention that the event will be supervised by representatives from each NBA team, as well as independent auditors.

This process only determines the top 3 picks; the others are determined by the finalized regular season standings. So, in order for the Blazers to move up at all, they would have to receive a top 3 pick. Currently, Portland stands to receive the 10^th pick, but they have a 1.6% chance of pulling the 3^rd pick, a 1.3% chance of pulling the 2^nd pick, and a 1.1% chance of pulling the almighty 1^st pick.

The only way they could drop below 10^th is if one of the teams that finished with a better record than them lucked into a top 3 pick. However; there is only a shadow of chance for this to happen, as those teams (Philadelphia, Toronto, Dallas, Utah) have even worse odds of jumping the pack.

The lottery never follows the statistics to a T, so prepare for anything to happen. Nevertheless, the odds are as follows:

Orlando (20-62):               25% chance to receive the #1 pick
Charlotte (21-61):            19.9% chance to receive the #1 pick
Cleveland (24-58):           15.6% chance to receive the #1 pick
Phoenix (25-57):               11.9% chance to receive the #1 pick
New Orleans (27-55):     8.8% chance to receive the #1 pick
Sacramento (28-54):       6.3% chance to receive the #1 pick
Detroit (29-53):                 3.6% chance to receive the #1 pick
Washington (29-53):       3.5% chance to receive the #1 pick
Minnesota (31-51):         1.7% chance to receive the #1 pick
Portland (33-49):              1.1% chance to receive the #1 pick
Philadelphia (34-48):       0.8% chance to receive the #1 pick
Toronto (34-48):               0.7% chance to receive the #1 pick
Dallas (41-41):                    0.6% chance to receive the #1 pick
Utah (43-39):                     0.5% chance to receive the #1 pick

While the chance of Portland lucking out big time is staggeringly low, remember that it is not impossible. As detailed by my colleague, Kevin Yeung, Chicago drew the first selection in 2008 when they were projected to pick 9^th. They used that pick to draft all-star point guard, Derrick Rose. There is no telling who will land where.

The Blazers will be represented by NBA Rookie of the Year, Damian Lillard. Only 7.5 hours remain until lottery time. The whims of fate shall determine the future of the league’s most desperate franchises. Who will make tonight’s headlines and rock the basketball world?

@davidmackaypdx | @ripcityproject | davidmackaypdx@gmail.com

May 16, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Nerlens Noel is interviewed during the NBA Draft combine at Harrison Street Athletics Facility. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

I feel rather badly for the team that receives the #1 pick on Tuesday. Not because of some misguided notion that it is a bad position to be in, but because no player in the 2013 NBA draft is the standout first selection. That is not to say that there aren’t any talented prospects, just that there is little to no drop off.

Usually there is a player or two held in consensus above the rest. Last year it was Anthony Davis, and the year before it was Kyrie Irving. Even the Blazers had their choice between Greg Oden and Kevin Durant in 2007 (but we don’t speak of that anymore). However; this year the curve is not so steep.

Kentucky center, Nerlens Noel, and Kansas shooting guard, Ben Mclemore, are the favorites to be taken first, followed shortly by Georgetown small forward, Otto Porter. It almost seems wasteful to receive the 1^st pick when the 2^nd and 3^rd are arguably just as good. Can we really say that the difference between Ben Mclemore and Otto Porter is as pronounced as the difference between Kyrie Irving and Derrick Williams?

The Orlando Magic have the best chance (25%) to receive the #1 pick in this year’s draft. They finished the season with a horrid 20-62 record, only 4 losses worse than the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are likely to receive the 3^rd pick. So why does it seem so imbalanced that their picks could be nearly identical? Well, the Cavs feature NBA All-Star Kyrie Irving as well as would-be NBA All-Star Anderson Varejao, in comparison to Orlando’s… Nikola Vucevic?

That’s not a knock at the Magic, it’s just that the difference in draft compensation for either team does not match the obvious separation between the talent of their respective rosters. The #1 pick is a rarity to be celebrated by a starving fan-base, but in a decidedly weak draft class, the allotment is bitter-sweet. It’s like rummaging through a pile of money and settling on the shiniest quarter, despite the hope for a dollar. The next kid to purge the pile may have to clean his coin to make it sparkle, but in the end, each quarter is worth the same.

Perhaps it is not so bad that Portland is staring down the barrel of the 10^th pick. There is no player in the 2013 NBA draft I strongly lament being unable to select. Sure, it would be great to luck into a better draw, but the middle of the pack is not without its dimes.

@davidmackaypdx | @ripcityproject | davidmackaypdx@gmail.com

Mar 22, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; San Diego State Aztecs guard Jamaal Franklin (21) is defended by Oklahoma Sooners guard Cameron Clark (21) during the second half during the second round of the 2013 NCAA tournament at the Wells Fargo Center. San Diego State defeated the Oklahoma Sooners 70-55. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The first day of the NBA Draft Combine has passed, and for the Blazers, it seems they have significant interest in wing players.

At the draft combine, the Blazers met with five players, per OregonLive.com’s Jason Quick: UCLA guard-forward Shabazz Muhammad, Syracuse guard Michael Carter-Williams, Syracuse forward James Southerland, Indiana big man Cody Zeller and San Diego State guard Jamaal Franklin. Muhammad, Southerland and Franklin are all players that can play the wing position at the NBA level, and even Carter-Williams is not your average point guard prospect at a height of 6’6″. Zeller was the only big man the Blazers scouted on day one, in spite of starting center J.J. Hickson’s pending free agency.

The Blazers’ lack of interest in a starting center doesn’t come as too much of a surprise. General manager Neil Olshey has expressed an interest in pursuing a veteran center rather than adding one through the draft, and they are only a year removed from drafting center, Meyers Leonard, with the 11th pick. The Blazers likely plan to stick with Leonard, and instead shift their attention to drafting a wing.

The Blazers are nearly a lock for the tenth pick in the NBA draft this year, but they may not keep it–that pick could be traded in a deal for an established center. The same goes for the Blazers’ three picks in the second round (39th, 40th and 45th). However, in the event that they keep those picks, the players they have met with so far speak volumes about where their interest lies in the draft this year.

Shabazz Muhammad, Jamaal Franklin and James Southerland all have one thing in common: they are wing players that serve to put the ball in the basket, albeit in very different ways. Muhammad is a pure scorer (to the point of one-dimensionality?) who gets his through playing off the ball and taking advantage of his superior physical tools in the paint and on the break. Franklin is a much more versatile player than Muhammad, but his main appeal lies in his scoring ability as a slasher/cutter. Whereas Southerland is one of the NCAA’s best 3-point shooters and he is almost strictly a catch-and-shoot specialist.

With the worst scoring bench in the NBA last year (last in the league at 18.5 bench points per game, while the 29th-ranked Pacers averaged 26.1), it’s clear the Blazers are seeking help in the draft. The silver lining is that they have a bit of a blank canvas in terms of how they want to upgrade their bench. Muhammad, Franklin and Southerland are all very different types of scorers, and it seems the Blazers are looking indiscriminately for scoring help.

Other players the Blazers could be interested in that fit the scoring wing mold include LeHigh guard, C.J. McCollum, a Lillard-esque scorer with the ball; Georgia guard, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, an off-ball scorer with a sweet stroke; and Virginia Tech guard, Erick Green, the nation’s leading scorer with a smooth jumpshot and the ability to score with and without the ball.

Meanwhile, neither Michael Carter-Williams nor Cody Zeller identify much as scorers. Carter-Williams is a versatile point guard that actually struggles to score, much like a young Rajon Rondo, and Zeller is an all-around big who, admittedly, has a relatively polished offensive game but is also extremely unselfish. They strike me more as the Blazers doing “due diligence” on prospects, but anything could happen in the Blazers’ effort to retool their bench.

Whether or not the Blazers keep their picks, it’s clear they have an interest in adding a much-needed scoring punch to their bench. If they don’t like anyone to fill that role in the draft, it could become a priority during free agency.

@THEkevinyeung | @ripcityproject