NEW YORK - Pat Williams is pretty good at being lucky, and he’s got a hunch.
“I got a funny feeling that this could be another Magic year, here. For some reason, I’ve just got the feel,” Williams said.
Orlando sure could use it.
Following a difficult first season after trading Dwight Howard, the Magic are hoping Williams can bring them more lottery luck.
Armed with the best odds and their three-time winner back on stage, the Magic will try to jump start the rebuilding process today by landing the rights to the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.
Williams has won four times, including victories in 1992, 1993 and 2004 with the Magic. They used the most recent one to draft Howard, and no team since has entered with the best odds and won the lottery.
The Magic were back in the lottery the next two years but were busy playing in the postseason every spring since until this one, when they finished an NBA-worst 20-62 after sending Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers last August in a four-team deal.
That gives them a 25 percent chance at winning the rights to choose first in a draft that appears uncertain. Kentucky freshman Nerlens Noel is considered the top choice, though he could miss the first two months of the season while recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
The Charlotte Bobcats are second at 19.9 percent, followed by the Cleveland Cavaliers (15.6) and the Phoenix Suns (11.9). The New Orleans Pelicans have the fifth-best odds at 8.8 percent.
The draft is June 27 at Barclays Center, home of the Brooklyn Nets.
Sports, Pages 21 on 05/21/2013