SHOREWOOD, Minn. -- Prince's plan worked to perfection.
Rio's owner decided mid-season that the Rainmakers wouldn't make the grade come playoff time, and he -- along with general manager Brendan Halleron -- immediately began preparing for the long term. They moved Paul Millsap to Chaska for rising star Victor Oladipo, and slowly descended the standings into eighth place. To cap things off perfectly, Prince and Halleron needed a little Lottery luck, and they got it -- Rio snagged the first overall pick in July's Rookie Draft despite having only a 17.0 percent chance to do so. Rio ping-pong balls came up several times during the selection process. They were discarded after the team had already won the No. 1 pick, but the good energy was hard to ignore. "With my luck, I could've had four of the top six picks," Halleron said. "I was LOL-ing." Halleron said he's open to trading the pick, but he does have his sights set on a couple players. "Since I don't have to smokescreen, I felt Jabari Parker got the perfect situation for now," he said. "It's just a question of (what kind of) player he will become. Marcus Smart is also in a very interesting situation, and I think he will do special things." Kansas City and the yet-to-be-named expansion franchise had 68 percent of the ping-pong balls in the bowl, and 82 percent of the eligible balls after Rio got the No. 1 pick, but the Hollywood Hornets (No. 2 overall) and Minnesnowta Chill (No. 3 overall) beat the odds to snag picks. "Now I know how Sacramento feels every year," Monarchs owner Jack Nowland said. Newport Beach, with only one ball out of the 47 in the bowl, was the only team to gain the pick it was slotted at -- the Grizzlies' ball never came up, and they received the sixth slot, which means the pick will go to Shorewood as part of the Stephen Curry trade. OFFICIAL ROOKIE DRAFT ORDER (Tentatively scheduled for July 31, 2014) 1. Rio Rainmakers 2. Hollywood Hornets 3. Minnesnowta Chill 4. Kansas City Monarchs 5. Expansion Franchise 6. Shorewood Show (from Newport Beach) 7. Minneapolis Player Haterzz 8. Duval United 9. Chaska Moose 10. Shorewood Show --- 11. Rio Rainmakers 12. Hollywood Hornets 13. Minnesnowta Chill 14. Kansas City Monarchs 15. Expansion Franchise 16. Newport Beach Grizzlies 17. Minneapolis Player Haterzz 18. Duval United 19. Chaska Moose 20. Shorewood Show 21. Expansion Franchise (expansion pick)
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