Could somebody enlighten me.....

[Ima Facultiwyfe]

....on the workings of the NBA draft? How many in the first round?, second round, etc. Explain how a lottery pick works. How many of those are there? Who gets guaranteed money, who doesn't? Who still has to try out to get a firm contract. All that stuff. Or give me a site that will explain it all. I'll be forever grateful.
Love, Ima

[OZZIE4DUKE]

All first round selections get guaranteed money and I think a two year contract (maybe 3?) Second round selections have nothing guaranteed, although the contract they sign can be guaranteed by the team if they so desire. That's what Carlos Boozer got.

[DukieInKansas]

Lottery Pick:

The 10 (I think) worst teams in the NBA have a lottery to determine what order they get to pick in the draft. Any player picked with one of these choices is a lottery pick. Often they get the biggest bucks but may play for the worst team.


This is my understanding of a lottery pick. Note: I did not stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

[wilson]

Lottery Pick:

The 10 (I think) worst teams in the NBA have a lottery to determine what order they get to pick in the draft. Any player picked with one of these choices is a lottery pick. Often they get the biggest bucks but may play for the worst team.

It's actually the 14 worst teams...all the ones who don't make the playoffs.
As for contracts, first-round picks get 2-year guaranteed contracts, while 2nd-round picks have no guarantee of even making the roster. Carlos Boozer actually did not immediately sign a multi-year contract. He played on an initial one-year contract, then signed a multi-year deal after his first season. This is actually a slight benefit to going in the second round; players selected then who do well enough to stick around are actually eligible to sign new contracts a year before first-rounders, who have no option of re-signing/re-negotiating before their initial two-year deal is up.

[gadzooks]

The 14 teams that did not make the playoff the previous season are eligible for the lottery. The first four picks are assigned semi-randomly; they use one of those ball-hopper things, and through a process I don't fully understand, the teams with the worst records have the greatest chance of getting those picks. The remaining 10 picks are done in order from worst to best record. Wikipedia has a more complete explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_Draft_Lottery (more on the draft in general here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_Draft)