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Thunder GM warns of Westbrook's outfit for draft lottery

Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Having built through the draft for years, the Oklahoma City Thunder are hoping to get a little lottery luck one more time as they push for a championship in Kevin Durant's walk year.

With incredibly long odds as the last team out of the playoffs, the Thunder are hoping that changes this year when pingpong balls are drawn on May 19. Much like they did with their 2014-15 playoff hopes, they'll pin their lottery hopes on Russell Westbrook as the team's representative at the event.

It goes without saying that Westbrook's going to come correct with a flashy outfit, but general manager Sam Presti has issued a bit of a warning to viewers just to be sure.

"I told him the other day that if people watching at home do not have to adjust the brightness on their television screen based on what he is wearing, I will be really surprised," Presti said. "That or something sans sleeves."

The Thunder have a 0.5-percent chance of landing the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft and a 1.8-percent chance of jumping into the top-three, otherwise they'll select 14th. Those may seem long, but their greater than zero, which is what matters for a franchise hoping to get a bit of good fortune as they enter a pivotal season.

Had they made the playoffs and finished with one of the league's 12 best records, their pick would have been sent to the Philadelphia 76ers, a minor silver lining at the end of a very tough year.

Westbrook was a high pick himself, the No. 4 selection in 2008, but the Thunder had some tough luck in that lottery. Then the Seattle SuperSonics, the franchise had the second-best odds of drafting No. 1, but slid to No. 4. They made out just fine with Westbrook and later nabbed Serge Ibaka at No. 24.

A year earlier, the Sonics jumped from a likely No. 5 slot in the draft to No. 2, allowing them to draft Durant when the Portland Trail Blazers – jumping from No. 7 to No. 1 thanks to the lottery – passed on him in favor of Greg Oden. The Thunder also landed Jeff Green at No. 5, when the Boston Celtics were willing to move the pick after sliding from No. 2 in the lottery.

In 2009, the Thunder moved from No. 4 to No. 3, allowing them to select James Harden. While it's been a mixed bag overall, the lottery has been fairly kind to the organization:

Season Pre-Lottery Slot Post-Lottery Slot Selection
2007 5 2 Kevin Durant
2008 2 4 Russell Westbrook
2009 4 3 James Harden
2013 (via Toronto) 12 12 Steven Adams
2015 14 TBD TBD

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