The Utah Jazz got themselves out of their jam from the infamous Derrick Favors trade. Sure, they may wind up with the No. 8 pick, but a pick is better than no pick. The Indiana Pacers can't say the same thing. Thanks to their trade for Ivica Zubac, there's a chance they may give up their pick to the LA Clippers. If they have the same bad lottery luck the Jazz did, that pick goes to the Clippers.
Let's start with the Jazz side of it. Last year, by having the worst record in franchise history, Utah had the best lottery odds in the NBA last year. Even so, they wound up with the No. 5 pick, which was the worst-case scenario. It worked out in the end - thanks Ace! - but that doesn't erase the fact that the lottery screwed over the Jazz.
The Pacers are actually even at more risk than the Jazz were. They didn't have the NBA's worst-record. They had the second-worst. The pick they sent the Clippers was top-four protected. Because of those two factors, Indiana has a near-48% chance of losing it to LA.
Indiana is still in really good shape, whether they keep the pick or not, but like Utah, it's in their best interest to keep it with what they plan to do next season. The irony is that acquiring Zubac did the Jazz a massive favor regarding Walker Kessler's free agency.
Indiana & Utah don't typically play the lottery
What has made both the Pacers and Jazz so impressive is that despite the disadvantage of being a small-market team, both teams have had their fair amount of success over the years in the NBA. So much so that neither has typically turned to the lottery to build a winning team.
Typically, both have turned to shrewd team-building to build the playoff contenders they've had. In fact, the only reason why Indiana is in this position in the first place is because of Tyrese Haliburton's Achilles tear. They went from one game away from their first championship in franchise history to playing the lottery.
Utah didn't get the pick they wanted last year, but they at least got one of their most promising prospects of the 21st century for their troubles. Even this year, such bad lottery luck might happen again, and it won't matter because they still have a playoff contender and will add a young, promising player to go with that.
If Haliburton overcomes his injury, Indiana has nothing to worry about in the long run, but they don't have the same ace in the hole if they're unfortunate at the lottery like Utah is.
Add us as a preferred source on Google