Photograph of Mikhail Prokhorov, Mayor Bloomberg and Jay-Z at Gracie Mansion by David Goldman/AP

Fine, the NBA uses the weighted draft lottery system to ensure that teams don't purposely lose toward the end of the season to ensure a higher draft pick. So the Nets, with a 12-70 record, had a 25% chance of getting the number one pick and a 21.5% chance of getting the number two pick...and ended up with the number three pick (they had a 17.73% chance for that). New owner Mikhail Prokhorov shrugged it off, saying, "I’m sure we’re going to get a great player." The Washington Wizards got the number one pick, sending D.C. sports press and fans into a frenzy.

The Russian billionaire, who promised that the team will win a championship within five years, also said, “We don’t need to go to square one. We need to focus on putting together the strongest team we can get. A lot will depend on how the pieces of the puzzle fit together, but I’m confident we’ll have a great team next season.” NBA.com offers this perspective: "In the last 15 drafts, the No. 3 pick has produced two Rookies of the Year (Grant Hill - 1994, shared with Jason Kidd, and Pau Gasol - 2002), a Finals MVP (Chauncey Billups - 2004), a Sixth Man of the Year (Ben Gordon - 2005) and nine All-Stars (Hill, Gasol, Billups, Jerry Stackhouse, Carmelo Anthony, Baron Davis, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Deron Williams and Al Horford)."

This morning, Prokhorov had lunch with fellow billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg—as well as Nets investor Jay-Z and Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner—at Gracie Mansion. NY1 reports that "bagels were on the menu." And, FWIW, Shaquille O'Neal weighed in on the Nets' arena drama: "I think [the Prudential Center is] better than most arenas, I think it's one of the best arenas in the country. Hopefully they can stay there forever. I don't know what's going on with the Brooklyn situation, but it says a lot for the city of Newark."