NBA Draft Lottery 2014: Draft pick restriction details

Outside of the deciding game in the NBA Finals, tonight may be the most anticipated night of the playoffs. Ironically, it has nothing to do with the actual playoffs Prior to Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals, the NBA will be holding their annual NBA Draft Lottery to decide who get what draft picks.

An area that fans often go uninformed on are draft pick restrictions that are placed on first and second round picks when traded, so we’ve decided to break down the restrictions, so you all can understand them.

How restrictions work are pretty simple. If a team places a top-5 restriction on a first-round pick, the pick doesn’t transfer unless it lands within picks 6-30. If a pick has a top-20 restriction, the pick doesn’t transfer unless the draft pick ends up at 21-30.

For a real life example, let’s refer to the 2003 NBA Draft to give a clearer picture on how things work. In a deal with the Memphis Grizzlies, the Detroit Pistons received the Grizzlies 2003 first-round draft pick that was restricted from picks No. 2 through No. 18. Due to the Grizzlies landing the second overall pick following the draft lottery, which fell between the restriction, the pick transferred to the Pistons. Had it fell at number one overall or anywhere after #19, the Grizzlies would’ve kept the pick.

Now that that’s explained, here is a list of all the restrictions in round 1 of the 2014 NBA Draft.