NBA Draft Lottery 2014: Jazz Jam Session with Eric Buenning of Brewhoop.com

The Milwaukee Bucks finished the season 15-67, the worst record in the league. As a direct result, they have the most ping-pong balls for today's NBA Draft lottery. In order to get a little more information on the Bucks we're going to Jam with BrewHoop editor Eric Buenning (@ericbuenning)!

The Bucks have a 25% chance at the top spot so let's get Jammin'!

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1. My team is only in the lottery this year because of __________, ________ , and __________ .

ERIC: Everyone got hurt, the players they signed all underpeformed, and because they just weren't very good. There were some small signs of improvement from some of the young players, but nothing this team tried translated to more than one win at a time. The signings of O.J. Mayo, Caron Butler, and Gary Neal all blew up in both chemistry and waistband-related issues, and losing Larry Sanders multiple times for multiple reasons didn't help establish any continuity on the court. What was left on the court wasn't talented enough or cohesive enough to build anything, and here we are.

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2. If we were drafting based on need, the top player on our draft board would be _________ .

ERIC: A wing creator/scorer, so Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, and Dante Exum are all in play in this scenario. The Bucks had a difficult time creating easy offense individually and collectively, so selecting any one of these three guys should be at least an improvement over what's currently there. If I had to make the pick right now, I'm taking Parker because the scoring ability is more polished right now and would provide immediate relief to a sometimes decent, but not at all reliable offense. I would not be opposed to taking Wiggins, though. Or Exum. Or Embiid. Okay, I've changed my mind. I'll take all of them.

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3. Historically the lotto has been _____ to my franchise.

ERIC: Thanks to one of our friends (and Bucks.com writer) Alex Boeder, we have all kinds of great lottery information. In the Bucks last 14 trips to the lottery, the Bucks have moved up from their position twice, down five times, and have stayed in the same slot seven times. The two times the Bucks won the lottery (1994 and 2005), they selected Glenn Robinson and Andrew Bogut. Other ventures in the lottery have brought Yi Jianlian and Joe Alexander, too, so I'd say it's been a mixed bag for the Bucks in the past handful of years. However, having the worst record this year paired with a pretty promising top crop of talent has Bucks fans pretty optimistic. Let's hope the lottery gods are kind to us this season so we don't have to be answering these questions in a couple of years.

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4. Our team deserves a Top 3 pick because __________ .

ERIC: There is only one other place for the Bucks to draft this year, and getting the fourth pick would be a bummer. So let's not have that happen, okay? We don't ask for much. Give us that, please.

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5. Our team deserves the #1 pick because ___________ .

ERIC: This team never gave up their lead on a team that gutted their roster and LOST 26 FREAKING GAMES IN A ROW. THAT'S JUST ABOUT ONE-THIRD OF THE SEASON. YOU NEED TO REWARD A TEAM THAT SHOWS THAT KIND OF PERSEVERANCE IN THE FACE OF SUCH ADVERSITY.

Also, the winters are super cold here. We don't enjoy going outside during that time. If the Bucks can land the top pick in the draft, fans will be more willing to come out and get some exercise. If they slide a little? Maybe they'll be less willing to get moving. They'll just stay inside and keep shoveling cheese curds down their gullets. What if their health declines? DO YOU WANT THAT WEIGHING ON YOUR CONSCIENCE?!?

I didn't think so.

Finally, picture the #1 pick with Giannis. Close your eyes for a second. Picture that. Yeah, ok. We're done here. Thank you in advance for letting us have that pick.

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Thanks Eric, and best of luck to your Milwaukee Bucks!