NEW YORK – New Orleans finished in a tie for third place in the Southwest Division with Dallas and Memphis, which would be a mere footnote if not for the fact that all three 33-49 squads will also participate in the May 14 NBA draft lottery. Since every lottery participant must be given a specific pre-lottery slot, a tiebreaker was necessary Friday, resulting in the Pelicans being placed seventh (Memphis is No. 8, Dallas is No. 9).
All three teams will carry identical odds going into the draft lottery, including a 6.0 percent chance of winning it and a 26.