2023 Orlando Magic Offseason Calendar
April 14 & April 17: Chicago Bulls’ pick is determined
The Chicago Bulls pulled away to earn the final postseason spot in the Eastern Conference. They then stunned many with a win over the Toronto Raptors in the first play-in game and nearly took down the Miami Heat on the road. The Bulls ran out of steam as the Heat’s clutch play became too much.
A win in Friday’s game against the Miami Heat would have taken the Chicago Bulls out of the Lottery and guaranteed the Orlando Magic the 15th pick in the upcoming NBA Draft to complete the Nikola Vucevic trade from 2021.
Instead, the Chicago Bulls’ loss and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s loss send the Bulls to the all-important lottery tiebreaker.
Monday, the league office is expected to hold its annual tiebreaker draw to break any draft ties, including the tie for 11th in the Lottery standings between the Chicago Bulls and Oklahoma City Thunder.
The draw is a simple lottery drawing. They place the tied teams’ logo on a lottery ball, place it in the lottery drum and draw a winner. The importance of this random draw is for placement.
If the Bulls were to win this lottery, they would have an 8.5 percent chance of entering the top four (1.8 percent chance of winning the lottery) and pick 11th if they fail to jump in the top four. If they lose this draw, they would have an 8.0 percent chance of entering the top four (1.7 percent chance of winning the entire lottery) and pick 12th if they and Oklahoma City fail to jump into the top four.
The tiebreaker will give the winning team that extra number combination in the hopper. That could be important or be the difference between the Magic getting the Bulls’ pick or not. It would also be important in determining where the Magic will finally end up should that Bulls pick convey (which it is very likely to do).