With seven picks traded previous to the draft, protected and unprotected, the 2016 NBA Draft Lottery has more possibilities than in a usual year. Teams that had bad seasons will further delay their ability to improve while several playoff teams will have the opportunity to further add to their roster.

While Brooklyn and New York traded their 2016 first round picks previously, the Lakers and Wizards are fortunate enough to have a chance at retaining their selections. Conveying picks could transpire for the Lakers, Kings and Wizards. Any pick outside of the top-3 for the Lakers goes to Philadelphia, Sacramento conveys their pick to the Bulls if it lands outside of the top-10, and the Wizards’ pick is protected from selections No. 1-9.

Finishing well out of the playoffs and then losing an important asset borders on malpractice, but it’s happened to rebuilding teams before. The teams trading for first round picks and having them convey have been rewarded immensely over the years.

Cleveland sought an extra first round pick in 2011 when rebuilding after LeBron James’ departure and took on Baron Davis and his albatross contract in a trade with the Clippers that turned into Kyrie Irving with the first overall pick.

Another future All-Star point guard emerged in the next draft in 2012 when Damian Lillard’s eventual pick was acquired via a trade deadline deal with the Nets for Gerald Wallace. 

While the first-round picks that manifested into the likes of Magic Johnson and James Worthy were traded well before the drafts in which they conveyed, Irving and Lillard’s respective selections were questionably dealt just a few months beforehand.

The Clippers finished 32-50 as the eighth-worst team heading into the lottery in the 2010-11 season, and Brooklyn also mortgaged their future for immediate help in Wallace to give Deron Williams the confidence in re-signing that offseason. 

Detroit’s ability to select Darko Miličić in 2003 while appearing in the Eastern Conference Finals that season came from a deal years in the past. The Pistons traded Otis Thorpe in 1997 to the Vancouver Grizzlies for a 2003 first-round pick, protected through only the first selection. Thorpe averaged 13.1 PPG and 7.9 RPG on a contending Pistons team during the 1996-97 season, but fast forward six years later, and the Pistons had enviable chance to nab a superstar at pick No. 2 in the 2003 Draft.

Another debacle with high draft picks occurred in 2005, when the Knicks traded one first round pick in 2006 and a pick swap in 2007 that would eventually turn into LaMarcus Aldridge and Joakim Noah for Eddy Curry. New York stacked its roster with aging, expensive veterans but could have had their frontcourt of the next decade if everything played out ideally. Teams clamoring to relieve their roster of peaked players tend to prioritize draft picks in trades.

In today’s lottery, the Sixers could essentially get the No. 4 or No. 5 pick for Michael Carter-Williams. This is also a similar notion with the Wizards-Suns trade at the deadline. Markieff Morris is beneficial to the Wizards, who have legitimate talent (Wall, Beal, Gortat), as a stretch-4 forward that’s a proven commodity in the league. With a 97.4 percent chance of landing at either No. 13 or no. 14 overall, Phoenix might not take a player that exceeds Morris’ talent, but they did well last year with Devin Booker at 13.

In a similar situation, New York felt that a simple pick swap that would occur in 2016 wouldn’t deter their quest for landing Carmelo Anthony in 2011. Added in the trade as a stipulation, New York couldn’t land the No. 1 pick in 2016 or Denver would invoke the ability to swap selections. With that pick swap in place, the Knicks later traded it outright to the Raptors for Andrea Bargnani.  

The Knicks were a competitive playoff team in 2013, but Sacramento also misjudged a veteran talent in J.J. Hickson in 2011 and could be spurned by the lottery. Unlike New York, Sacramento didn’t house similar, potent talent and couldn’t afford to misfire in trades. He underwhelmed in just 37 games (4.7 PPG, 37.0% FG) and failing to be the ideal big next to Cousins on the block. The Kings cut Hickson during the 2011-12 season, and Sacramento’s pick, traded to Chicago by the Cavs for Luol Deng, has yet to convey. 

Protected through the first 10 selections this season, two teams would have to jump the Kings. There are ramifications in the upcoming years if that happens, as Philadelphia could get an unprotected 2018 pick out of it from Sacramento.  

Brooklyn doesn’t have their own first-round picks in 2016 and 2018 and has to swap picks with the Celtics next year. What’s even more unbelievable to note is that Boston, similar to New York with Toronto, is helping the rich prosper through the draft. 

Ben Simmons, Brandon Ingram or a guard loaded with upside could likely start for the Celtics next season, their 2017 first-round pick from Brooklyn could be again in the top three picks and Brooklyn might not recover even by 2018.  

It’s a product of organizations’ willingness to invest in the draft, specifically the lottery, take risks and invest in odds.