Cleveland fell to Atlanta in the final play-off of the East, being eliminated from the play-off berth. However, there was a silver lining for the Cavaliers: they were picking their first round pick in the 2022 draft.
If the Cavs had won and advanced to the playoffs, the pacers would have had a Cleveland lottery-protected pick. But now that selection will be canceled until next season, Cleveland owes its lottery-secured 2023 first-rounder Indiana.
As ESPN's Bobby Marks notes (via Twitter), if the Cavs fail to advance to the 2023 post-season, Indiana will again be eliminated from the first-round pick and will instead control Cleveland's 2025 second-round pick.
The West's final play-in tournament also had a major first-round picking effect. New Orleans beat Los Angeles, so the Hornets now own the Pelicans' first-round pick (No. 15), while the Trail Blazers will receive Milwaukee's 2025 first-round pick (top-4 protected; from NOLA).
The Thunder also picked up an extra lottery pick from the Clippers, as the team owes the LA's unprotected pick.
We will have a better picture of where things stand after the draft tiebreakers are conducted on Monday, at which time we will reveal the disadvantages of the lottery and a more complete breakdown of the draft order.