But wait, aren’t there 14 lottery selections? Yes, there are. The Sacramento Kings got lucky by getting two picks in the top 10, and the Boston Celtics got inexplicably lucky because they inherited the Brooklyn Nets’ pick which turned out to be first overall. Billy King was the architect of the deal that led to this. On July 12, 2013, he traded away the rights to not one, not two, not three, but four first-rounders for Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. (Can’t leave out Jason Terry. That would be blasphemous.)
Don’t pity my fandom — instead, appreciate that the GM of your favorite team hasn’t jeopardized the long-term future of his organization.