Suns, Grizzlies own top shots at No. 1 pick in draft lottery

One loss to Memphis helped give the Phoenix Suns the best chance to win the No. 1 overall pick on Tuesday night in Chicago.

The Grizzlies, who beat the Suns head-to-head, hold the next-best odds to hold the top spot in the 2018 NBA Draft when ping-pong balls are sorted out at the Palmer House. The top 14 selections in the draft are determined by the annual lottery.

In the final year of NBA tanking as we know it — rules adopted for 2019 will give the three worst teams by final record an equal 14 percent chance at the top pick in the draft lottery — Phoenix owns a 25.1 percent chance at No. 1 and 64.2 percent chance at a top-three pick. The Suns finished one win behind Memphis in the final 2017-18 season standings.

Memphis stands at 19.9/55.8. The Grizzlies also have the No. 32 pick, but Memphis’ 2019 first-round pick is owed to the Boston Celtics. Perhaps no team, Phoenix included, stands to win — or lose — more than the Grizzlies on Tuesday.

“There’s a narrow list of guys that can be in consideration for that top-five pick,” said Grizzlies vice president of basketball operations John Hollinger. “You know the group you’re (potentially) getting in the top five, but there’s a lot more variance at 32, so there’s a lot more work there, definitely. We’ve picked around there three of the last four years. So yeah, we’re anticipating there’s going to be a lot of value with that pick.”

In the mix for the No. 1 selection are Arizona’s Deandre Ayton, a 7-foot center from Arizona, Real Madrid guard Luka Doncic and Duke forward Marvin Bagley.

The Suns drafted Kansas forward Josh Jackson with the fourth overall pick in 2017 but won just 21 games, trading away guard Eric Bledsoe to the Milwaukee Bucks to kick-start what looked like a tank job. General manager Ryan McDonough described the state of the team as a rebuild.

New head coach Igor Kokoskov said the Suns have the foundation to be “really, really strong” based on what shakes out Tuesday night.

“You gotta feel the energy — one guy can change a lot. From the chemistry on the court to a rotation standpoint,” Kokoskov said.

Dallas (13.8 percent for top pick, 42.5 percent top three), the Atlanta Hawks (13.7/42.4), Orlando Magic (8.8/29.1), Chicago Bulls (5.3 percent/18.3 percent), Sacramento Kings (5.3/18.3 percent) and Cleveland Cavaliers, via trade with the Brooklyn Nets, (2.8 percent/10.0) have the next best chance for fortunes-shifting outcome on Tuesday.

The Mavericks were reprimanded by the NBA for owner Mark Cuban’s admission that they were attempting to win the lottery, not win games, last season. Dallas landed explosive guard Dennis Smith Jr. with the ninth overall pick in the 2017 draft.

“We did this year what we felt was in the long-term best interest of the Bulls,” Chicago vice president of basketball operations John Paxson said. “It’s not a situation that any of us want to ever be in again. And it goes against everything as a competitive person that you believe in. But it’s the way the system’s set up.”

Chicago traded for Finnish forward Lauri Markkanen (Arizona), drafted seventh overall in 2017, in a deal with the Timberwolves last year and established a young core that includes former Minnesota lottery picks Kris Dunn and Zach LaVine.

The Celtics or Philadelphia 76ers could claim a lottery pick via trade with the Lakers. The Celtics are granted the selection from Los Angeles, which enters the lottery with the 10th-best chance to land the No. 1 pick, if the pick is between No. 2 and No. 5. Otherwise, the selection shifts to the 76ers. Philadelphia drafted No. 1 overall in 2017 and took Washington’s Markelle Fultz.

–Field Level Media