CHICAGO — As each of the white pingpong balls, numbered 1 through 14, bounce into the SmartPlay device that facilitates the annual NBA Draft Lottery, the echo of 2.7 gram plastic spheres rattling inside glass serves as a stark reminder how the fate of $4 billion franchises quite literally hangs in the balance of sheer chance. Sunday afternoon, inside the sequestered drawing room at McCormick Place, the first three balls to determine the winner of the No. 1 pick in June’s draft came out of the machine 6-10-14, for example, leaving seven teams with the possibility of the top selection — or half the room.
The big lottery moves of Atlanta, Houston add another layer of offseason intrigue
