Nothing’s happening. The snow that was supposed to bury you for days is just kinda slushin’ around out there, but the area is shut down all the same. So what better time to speculate on the Sixers’ draft pick status?

While the team is out on the West Coast gearing up to lose against the Golden State Warriors tonight, we can look at what comes next. The Sixers are currently 24-42, in 5th place in the lottery hunt, and only one game out of 4th. But where the Sixers land is relatively inconsequential for this post. Let’s look at the Lakers.

The Sixers really shot themselves in the wheels of the tank by beating LA the other night, and the Lakers are sitting pretty in the two-spot. With only 16 games left for the Sixers and 15 for LA, the Lake show’s 4.5 game lead on the Sixers is fairly secure. Phoenix, in the three spot, is only 2 games better than LA however, and getting the Lakers to that three spot raises the Sixers’ odds of getting that pick this year by 9%. As they currently sit, the Lakers have a 44.2% chance of losing their pick to the Sixers. In the three hole, that becomes 53.1%.

The Kings pick is where things get interesting. They’re two spots below the Sixers, but with a difference of only 1.5 games. FiveThirtyEight predicts the Sixers will finish in the #5 lottery spot with a record of 30-52. They have the Kings at 31-51, one spot behind. Combined, that would give the Sixers, at 5 and 6, a 14.1% chance at the number one pick (just shy of the #3 team’s odds), and a 47.4% chance of being in the top three (actually better odds than the #3 team).
The Sixers also own second round picks currently sitting at 37, 40, 45, and 50.

Max and I – well, mostly Max – discussed who to watch in this year’s NCAA tournament with an eye towards the draft. You can listen to that here: