Usually, when NBA teams find themselves in the bottom half of the league, they have the draft lottery to look forward to.
Take the New Orleans Pelicans, who are currently projected to pick fourth. Their situation couldn't be more straightforward. They had a miserable season, in large part due to myriad injuries, and as a direct result, they'll likely get a fairly high first-round pick in this summer's NBA Draft.
Some teams, like the Atlanta Hawks, find themselves in the unpleasant situation of having relinquished control of their first-round pick, as they owe it to the San Antonio Spurs, unprotected.