Sixers stay 12th in draft; Blazers rise to No. 1

SECAUCUS, N.J. - As his team's draft position was called last night, 76ers president and general manager Billy King sat almost without emotion when he heard the expected result.

When he plays the real lottery, King buys the ticket but never expects to cash in. That's what happened when the Sixers earned the 12th pick in the NBA draft lottery after being seeded 12th in the 14-team field.

King realized that the Sixers had a 93.54 percent chance of staying at 12 and only a 0.70 percent chance of earning the top pick, a 0.83 chance at No. 2, and a 1.01 percent at No. 3.

"I was prepared to draft 12 even though I was hoping to move up," King said after the 23d annual lottery. "It's like when you buy the Powerball every Wednesday and Saturday. I dream of what I can buy, and I wake up in the morning and realize that it's time to go back to work."

Thus the Sixers will roll up their sleeves, no doubt preparing to be major players in the June 28 draft. Portland was the big winner last night, earning the top pick, while Seattle gained No. 2.

The Sixers will have two other first-round choices - Nos. 21 and 30, courtesy of the Allen Iverson trade with Denver. They also will select No. 38 overall, in the second round.

"I have been saying I would love to move up, and if we don't, we will get good players," King said. "Having the 12th pick in this draft is exciting because this draft is so deep."

Many names will be bandied about as candidates for that 12th pick. Among them are Texas A&M point guard Acie Law, Georgetown forward Jeff Green, Washington center Spencer Hawes, Brazilian center Tiago Splitter (if he does not have contract-buyout issues), and Florida State power forward Al Thornton.

One player who is likely to be mentioned but probably won't be around is Ohio State's freshman point guard, Mike Conley Jr.

But if the Sixers like Conley or any other player who might be gone by the 12th pick, King said, they will not hesitate to trade up.

"Having three picks gives the flexibility of maybe moving up," King said. "There are six teams without a first-round pick, so you can talk to those teams to maybe acquire a veteran who will fit your need."

King said it was reasonable to expect the No. 12 pick to be a contributor - and possibly more - as a rookie.

"The 12th pick is where we want to have impact," he said. "At 21, if you can get a player who can give you 10 minutes a night, it would be better."

And the 30th overall pick?

"We may trade for a future pick or take a player overseas and leave him overseas," King said. "We have a lot of options."

While things went according to form for the Sixers, the top of the draft provided a surprise: Portland had been seeded sixth and Seattle fifth.

The top two picks are expected to be Ohio State center Greg Oden and Texas forward Kevin Durant.

"If we couldn't get Oden or Durant, I'm glad they are going out West," King said. "Now we only have to face them twice a year."

The lottery's biggest losers were the biggest losers of the regular season. Memphis, which was seeded No. 1, ended up fourth. No. 2 seed Boston ended up fifth, and No. 3 seed Milwaukee ended up sixth.

On this night, the Sixers neither won nor lost, but they held serve. Now they can start plotting the future of the franchise.

Players who could be available when the Sixers pick 12th in the June 28 NBA draft:

Jeff Green, forward, Georgetown

Spencer Hawes, center, Washington

Acie Law, point guard, Texas A&M

Tiago Splitter, center, Brazil

Al Thornton, forward, Florida State

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