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By Mike Rothman

WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

For the third consecutive year, the team with the worst record in basketball did not win the NBA Draft Lottery. Despite a record of 21-61, the Portland Trail Blazers slipped to the fourth selection for the 2006 draft. This was not a huge surprise, given Portland only had a 25% chance of winning the top pick.

Trail Blazers President Steve Patterson did not seem shaken by his team's drop in the order, hinting to the fact that last year’s fourth selection, Wake Forest point guard Chris Paul, was the overwhelming NBA Rookie of the Year for the Hornets.

"You may find a player with as big an impact at No. 4 or even No. 6 as you may at No. 1," Patterson said.

Meanwhile, the team that did beat the odds and claimed the first overall pick was the Toronto Raptors, despite only an 8.8% chance of winning. General Manager Bryan Colangelo, recently hired away from the Phoenix Suns, was excited about the first pick and said it is a sign of things to come for the downtrodden Raptors.

"For us to have this kind of luck is a symbol of a reversal of fortune going forward," Colangelo said. "We have our work cut out. This will help."

The biggest loser in the lottery had to be a team that wasn't in it: the New York Knicks. After posting their worst record (23-59) in 20 years, the Knicks weren't a factor Tuesday night. Why? Because in the 2005 off season, Isiah Thomas dealt the rights to New York's No. 1 pick in 2006 to the Chicago Bulls for underachieving center Eddy Curry.

The 6’-11” Curry had been diagnosed with heart problems, which is why the Bulls were looking to deal him. In New York, Curry averaged fewer than 26 minutes per game in 2005-06, and less than one block and six rebounds per outing. He also was rarely on the court during crunch time due to his weak defense.

Thus, the lottery's biggest winners had to be the young, up-and-coming Bulls, who ended up with the second overall pick. The Bulls were 41-41 this season and earned the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, where they pushed the second-seeded Heat to the limit in the opening round. The Bulls already have one of the best young backcourts in the league with Ben Gordon and Kirk Hinrich, and will look to add a front-court impact player in this year’s draft.

"We made the deal, and we're lucky we got in the lottery," said John Paxson, the Bulls' Executive Vice President.

As for the players vying for to be taken No. 1 overall, there does not appear to be a clear-cut choice. Gonzaga forward Adam Morrison, Texas power forward/center LaMarcus Aldridge, LSU forward Tyrus Thomas and Italian power forward Andrea Bargnani are considered the top candidates.

Aldridge, who reaffirmed his stock in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 with a 26-point, 13-rebound performance against West Virginia, could be the slight favorite for the Raptors. Toronto also likes Bargnani, who is considered a prospect in the mold of Dirk Nowitzki.

The Raptors' Colangelo would not comment on which way the team is leaning.

"Right now we've got a month to go, and we'll see what comes our way and see what we can dig up," Colangelo said. "I think there are about five or six names that could be there. We need a one [point guard] or a five [center]."

This year’s draft may be as much about the players not in it as those who are available. With the NBA's new collective bargaining agreement, this will be the first year that high school seniors won't be eligible for the draft. That eliminated Greg Oden, a 7-foot prep phenom bound for Ohio State this fall, who would have been a lock for the first pick.

Another big man who will not be on the draft board this year is Joakim Noah, the Most Outstanding Player of the 2006 NCAA Final Four. Noah led the Florida Gators to a surprise NCAA title, but decided not to strike while the iron was hot and come back to Gainesville for a run at another championship.

Those are two names most GMs would have rated at the top of their boards this year.

So maybe there is no true big winner of the 2006 lottery. The big winner in the NBA could be the team with that lucky ping-pong ball in 2007.