The Raptors may be losing games but they could be gaining draft picks. For a while this season it appeared as if the Raptors would not have any picks in the 2002 NBA draft, which will be held in New York on June 26. But the way things are going, the Raptors could end up with two selections in the first round.

When the Raptors traded their 2002 first-round pick to the Houston Rockets in the Hakeem Olajuwon deal last summer, everyone figured that pick was gone for good. It turns out, however, that the pick is lottery-protected: In other words, if the Raptors miss the playoffs this year and subsequently wind up in the draft lottery, they'll get to keep their own pick.