Sixers fans were thrilled when, one by one, team president Sam Hinkie acquired three possible 2015 first-round draft picks in addition to the Sixers having their first-round selection.
Potentially there are four first-round picks for the Sixers. But if the draft happened today, barring any unexpected jumps in the lottery, the Sixers would have only their pick.
Here is the team's current draft situation:
The Sixers have the Lakers' pick, but that pick is top-five protected, and currently the Lakers have the fourth-worst record.
Los Angeles is three games back of the Magic in the loss column, and six back of the Kings. Orlando and Sacramento have the fifth- and sixth-worst records, respectively.
For some time, landing the Lakers' pick has appeared least likely of the three possible.
The Sixers have Miami's pick, only it is top-10 protected. The Heat have the 10th-worst record right now. However, for all the criticism the Eastern Conference takes for having bad teams, the battle for the seventh and eighth seeds in the East involves five teams with nine days to go in the regular season. The Heat are among them.
The Heat have 43 losses, the same number as the Pacers and Hornets. The Celtics are the eighth seed with 42 losses.
The Heat have the Hornets, Bulls, Raptors, Magic and Sixers remaining on their schedule. It is quite possible the final game of the season against Miami at the Wells Fargo Center determines if the Sixers have a second first-round pick this summer.
Oklahoma City is the third team involved in this first-round draft picture for the Sixers. OKC's pick is top-18 protected, and like the Heat, on Tuesday they are right where the Sixers don't want them — sitting with the 18th-worst record.
It is a turbulent ride if one chooses to look at this every day. Teams protect picks in an effort to keep them if things aren't going their way. At the moment, the Sixers are losing, but let's look again in a couple days.