I don’t know if I’m being optimistic or pessimistic, but for the last few days I’ve been wondering what next year’s draft would look like if there was the 2011-2012 NBA season was canceled outright.

Luckily, I’m not the only one. Ric Bucher at ESPN filed a story on Nov. 9 puzzling over the same question. But while his story is brief, probably because he’s insanely busy reporting on the NBA lockout, I, as a fan with no access, can ruminate endlessly on the possibilities.

Bucher writes that there are several options being discussed by the league.

1. Hold the lottery and draft based on last year’s standings.

2. Hold the lottery and draft based on three-year winning percentage totals.

3. Hold the lottery and draft based on five-year winning percentage totals.

He also adds that the only other league that had to confront this issue, hockey, the league “used a formula that weighted a league-wide lottery in favor of teams that did not make the playoffs the previous three seasons. It also weighed in teams that had not received the top pick during that time.”

Obviously, the NBA already has a lottery system in place, so their system would only allow the traditional non-playoff lottery teams to enter. With all of this in mind I charted the possible lottery scenarios.

The results are after the jump in full chart goodness. If you are a fan of a particularly downtrodden team such as Detroit, Sacramento, Golden State or Toronto, you owe it to yourself to read this post. It might be one of the few things to lift your spirits!

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Look, they want size, the same guys: Kanter, Valanciunas, though I don’t think they’ll take him because he’s not going to be here for a year and I think Joe D. is ready to turn this team around right now. I think Biyombo is in the mix. … I think you’re going to see him start to course correct in a major way this year to the extent that he can.

He also highlights the Pistons’ interest in Tristan Thompson and calls him  a “safer Biyombo.”