Luck was not on New Orleans’ side Tuesday afternoon, but it’s much more important that fortune smiles upon the Pelicans four weeks from now.
The NBA held a tiebreaker drawing Tuesday to determine the pre-lottery ordered slots for New Orleans, Chicago and Sacramento, teams that finished the 2020-21 regular season in a three-way tie with identical records of 31-41. The Bulls won the drawing, placing them in the No. 8 pre-lottery position, while the Kings gained the No. 9 spot and the Pelicans will be 10th.
That outcome will not affect New Orleans’ mathematical odds at the May 22 draft lottery.