3 winners and losers of the shocking 2024 NBA Draft Lottery
By Cal Durrett
Winner: Cleveland Cavaliers
With the Atlanta Hawks having won the draft lottery, the Cleveland Cavaliers should be excited. After all, with the Hawks now having the number one pick, it's unclear whether they will look to move on from their star-back court of Young and Murray.
Should they be forced to deal star Donovan Mitchell, then he will probably be the best player available on the trade market. That may result in an increased return for Mitchell, with teams possibly not having the luxury of choosing which star to pursue.
It might result in the Cavs being able to squeeze three first-round picks and a good young player out of another team. That would be a great return and prevent them from losing value on Mitchell, though they may have to take a step back from contending for a few seasons.
Be that as it may, receiving the best possible return will be in the best interest of the Cavaliers, who gave up a lot to acquire Mitchell from the Utah Jazz back in the summer of 2022. As a result, the Cavs should be happy with the NBA draft lottery results.