2006 NBA draft
The 2006 NBA Draft was held on June 28 at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The draft, sponsored by Sprite, was broadcast in the United States on ESPN.
Round 1
Round 2
2006 Draft Lottery
The main prelude to the Draft, the 2006 NBA Draft Lottery, took place on May 23, 2006 in Secaucus, New Jersey. At the draft, the 14 teams which did not make the 2006 playoffs selected the top 14 picks in reverse order of their records, except for the top three picks, which will be selected in the lottery. Statistically, the team with the worst record has the best chance of landing the top pick, the team with the second worst record has the second best chance, and so on. As is the case every year, after the drawing of the top three picks, the remaining 27 first-round draft picks will be assigned to each of the other NBA teams: picks 4 through 14 are assigned to the remaining non-playoff teams (only these teams participate in the lottery for the top three picks) in reverse order of their records, and picks 15 through 30 are assigned to the remaining NBA teams, in reverse order (i.e., the team with the best record will pick 30th). Round two also consists of 30 picks; teams select in reverse order of their records in the second round. The lottery only affects the first round; the team with the worst record has the first pick in the second round, regardless of the lottery results (see NBA Draft for more information).
Teams in the lottery
The following teams have "qualified" for the draft lottery, by being eliminated from playoff consideration. The NBA held a draw to break ties in the standings . In some cases, the team(s) in question have traded their first-round picks to another team.
Here were the odds for each team to get specific picks in the 2006 lottery (rounded to 3 decimal places):
| Team | Chances | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blazers | 250 | .250 | .215 | .177 | .358 | ||||||||||
| Bulls (from Knicks) | 199 | .199 | .188 | .171 | .319 | .124 | |||||||||
| Bobcats | 138 | .138 | .142 | .145 | .238 | .290 | .045 | ||||||||
| Hawks | 137 | .137 | .142 | .145 | .085 | .323 | .156 | .013 | |||||||
| Raptors | 88 | .088 | .096 | .106 | .262 | .359 | .084 | .004 | |||||||
| Timberwolves | 53 | .053 | .060 | .070 | .440 | .330 | .045 | .001 | |||||||
| Celtics | 53 | .053 | .060 | .070 | .573 | .226 | .018 | .000 | |||||||
| Rockets | 23 | .023 | .027 | .032 | .725 | .184 | .009 | .000 | |||||||
| Warriors | 22 | .022 | .026 | .031 | .797 | .121 | .004 | .000 | |||||||
| Sonics | 11 | .011 | .013 | .016 | .870 | .089 | .002 | .000 | |||||||
| Magic | 8 | .008 | .009 | .012 | .908 | .063 | .001 | .000 | |||||||
| Hornets | 7 | .007 | .008 | .010 | .935 | .039 | .000 | ||||||||
| 76ers | 6 | .006 | .007 | .009 | .960 | .018 | |||||||||
| Jazz | 5 | .005 | .006 | .007 | .982 |
Lottery results
- Toronto Raptors
- Chicago Bulls
- Charlotte Bobcats
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Atlanta Hawks
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Boston Celtics
- Houston Rockets
- Golden State Warriors
- Seattle SuperSonics
- Orlando Magic
- New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Utah Jazz
Eligibility rules
Unlike drafts in recent years, high school players will not be eligible for selection. The new collective bargaining agreement between the league and its players union establishes a new age limit for draft eligibility:
- All drafted players, regardless of nationality, must be born on or before December 31, 1987 (i.e., they must be at least 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft).
- United States players must be at least one year removed from high school graduation.
Players had until April 29 to declare for the draft. A player who has not previously withdrawn from the draft and has not hired an agent had until June 18 to withdraw from the draft and retain his college eligibility.
UConn Makes History
The University of Connecticut had a record-tying 4 players selected in Round 1. These players were Rudy Gay, Hilton Armstrong, Marcus Williams, and Josh Boone. This tied the record set by Duke University in 1999 and North Carolina in 2004.
When Denham Brown was selected in Round 2 by Seattle, UConn became the first school to ever have 5 players selected in the two-round draft.
Draft day trades
The following trades involving 2006 draft picks, or drafted players, have been made pending the initial publication of the draft order, up to and including the day of the 2006 NBA Draft. Unofficial trades include those which have been reported by reputable sports media, but have not been officially announced by the NBA or the involved teams.
- Boston Celtics acquire Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff and a 2nd round 2008 draft pick from the Portland Trail Blazers for Raef LaFrentz, Dan Dickau, and the 7th pick, Randy Foye. [1]
- Chicago Bulls trade the 2nd pick, LaMarcus Aldridge, to the Portland Trail Blazers for the 4th pick, Tyrus Thomas, and Viktor Khryapa. [2]
- Houston Rockets trade the 8th pick, Rudy Gay, to the Memphis Grizzlies for Shane Battier.
- Portland Trail Blazers trade the rights to Randy Foye to the Minnesota Timberwolves for the rights to Brandon Roy.
- Philadelphia 76ers trade the rights to Thabo Sefolosha, a 2nd round 2007 draft pick, and cash considerations to the Chicago Bulls for the rights to Rodney Carney.
- Boston Celtics pay the rest of Brian Grant's salary in exchange for Rajon Rondo, drafted by the Phoenix Suns