Miami Heat To Learn Where They Will Pick in NBA Draft Today

Thursday, June 25 marks the day of the 2015 NBA Draft, but before Miami Heat fans can start rooting on the newest pick, they have to put their faith in a handful of ping-pong balls.

Tonight is the 2015 NBA Draft Lottery, an event that determines the first three NBA teams that will select players from this year’s draft pool. This is only the fourth time Miami has participated in the lottery since president Pat Riley came into the picture, and unfortunately they have not had the best of luck.

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For instance, in 2003, the Heat were positioned at fourth place, but ended up falling to fifth. This almost cost them Dwyane Wade, who fortunately was passed up by the Detroit Pistons.

Additionally, in 2008, Miami had the worst record in the league but were surpassed by the Chicago Bulls, who had 18 more wins under their belts. This, of course, was the year that Chicago walked away with Derrick Rose.

This time around, the statistics for the Heat look like this:

• 1.1 percent chance of grabbing the No. 1 spot
• 1.3 percent probability of landing the No. 2 spot
• 1.6 percent shot of falling to the No. 3 spot

However, what most people are predicting is that they will land tenth, something that can only happen if no team behind them in standings, jumps to a top three spot. The likelihood of Miami picking tenth is 87 percent.

Ironically, LeBron James is why the Heat could end up losing their pick. In 2010, they gave it to the Cleveland Cavaliers in order to sign James. The Cavaliers then used it in a three-way deal to acquire Kevin Love.

While missing the offseason was not exactly what Miami had in mind for themselves this year, if all goes well in the draft, there will at least be a silver lining. There is no question that the Heat will already be contenders again next season with Chris Bosh coming back (and especially if Goran Dragic and Luol Deng stick around), but a top ten draft pick would certainly only improve the situation.

Rumors have it that the organization has already met with the likes of Kelly Oubre, as well as Devin Booker, so they are definitely preparing themselves for the best possible outcome. However, after the way Miami’s season went, many would not be surprised if they dropped below tenth place.

The Draft Lottery will be televised live from the Barclays Center, on ESPN at 8:30 p.m. For a more in-depth look at the numbers going into this year’s lottery, visit http://www.nba.com/heat/newsrecap/nba-draft-lottery-refresher.