This is Detroit, so you're probably prepared for the worst. Our teams and draft lotteries don't really get along. But the Pistons are hoping for the best Thursday night in one of the most pivotal moments in recent franchise history.
The NBA draft lottery kicks off at 8:30 on ESPN, and the Pistons have the fifth best odds of landing the No. 1 pick.
"I’m gonna wear my lucky underwear, whatever it takes to get that," head coach Dwane Casey said Wednesday. "And hopefully (general manager) Troy (Weaver) has a lucky charm in his pocket when he goes into the Zoom and we'll keep our fingers crossed. It’s going to be exciting for our fans and for us to see, because it’ll set the table for which way we’re going to go in a lot of areas."
Detroit has a 10.5 percent chance of winning the lottery, plus a 31.6 percent chance of landing somewhere in the top three. The club hasn't picked that high since drafting, uhm, Darko Milicic second overall in 2003.
In fact, the Pistons have had just three top-three picks in the last 50 years. That's what happens when the lottery never cuts you a break. Fortunately, the other two worked out well: Grant Hill third overall in 1994 and Isiah Thomas second overall in 1981. The Pistons desperately need a star like that now as they try to build their roster for the future.
Whether there's one to be found this year is the question.
The top three prospects are widely considered Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball and James Wiseman, with Edwards the favorite to go No. 1. A 6'5 shooting guard, Edwards put up 19.2 points per game in his freshman season at Georgia. But it's hard to call any of those three a sure thing.
The good news for the Pistons is that there's plenty of talent at their biggest position of need: point guard.
"It’s a very deep point guard draft. You can't get into specifics, but at every level there’s a point guard," Casey said. "But where we are, I agree with Troy and what Ed (Stefanski) has talked about, best player available. If it is a point guard, we’ll take him. Wherever we end up in the lottery, we’ll take the best player and then hopefully fulfill that other need in free agency."
That's what Casey means when he says the lottery will determine the direction of Detroit's roster. If the Pistons wind up filling their long-term hole at point guard with a player like Ball, they can pursue other needs the rest of the offseason. If they don't, finding a point guard to develop under Derrick Rose might become the club's primary aim moving forward.
"This is an exciting time for us, getting our roster together from top to bottom and going from there," Casey said.
But this year could be their best chance yet.
So do whatever you must. Cross your fingers, cover your eyes, hold your breath. Stand upside-down with your back to the TV. Wear your lucky underwear. Wear them on your head. If there are basketball gods up there -- or sports gods, or any gods at all -- this team and this city will catch the break we deserve.