Chicago wins first pick in lottery; Heat second, Wolves third

SECAUCUS, N.J. -- The Chicago Bulls expected to be in the playoffs, not the lottery.

This will ease the sting a little.

The Bulls won the NBA's Draft Lottery on Tuesday night, giving them the right to choose between star freshmen Michael Beasley and Derrick Rose.

Coming off a miserable season and still without a coach, the Bulls vaulted from the No. 9 spot, where they had just a 1.7 percent chance of landing the top choice.

"After this season, we needed a break and I think we just got one tonight," said Steve Schanwald, the Bulls' executive vice president of business operations who represented them on the podium.

Chicago will almost certainly choose between Beasley, the Kansas State forward who averaged 26.2 points and an NCAA-best 12.4 rebounds, or Rose, the point guard who carried Memphis within minutes of the national title.

"We'll have an opportunity to get close to those guys. We'll really take a long look at what makes the most sense for our basketball team," executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson said on a conference call. "Having the pick puts you in a unique position to make your team better.

Yay! Steve Schanwald is as excited as an executive can be after Chicago wins big. (AP)

"I certainly understand this was pure luck. Now it's our job to make the most of it."

The Miami Heat, who had a 25 percent chance of landing the top pick thanks to their NBA-worst 15-67 record, fell to second. The Minnesota Timberwolves will go third.

The Seattle SuperSonics, who moved up to No. 2 last year to pick Rookie of the Year Kevin Durant, fell from second to fourth. Memphis will pick fifth, followed by New York, the Los Angeles Clippers, Milwaukee, Charlotte and New Jersey.

Indiana has the 11th pick, followed by Sacramento, Portland and Golden State. The lottery settled the top three spots. The remainder of the first 14 picks are determined inverse order of their record.

The NBA Draft will be held June 26 in New York.

Chicago came into the season with high expectations after reaching the Eastern Conference semifinals last season. But the Bulls never recovered from a dismal start and finished 33-49. They fired coach Scott Skiles on Christmas Eve and have already decided not to retain interim coach Jim Boylan.