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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Photo courtesy of Getty Images

Detroit Pistons center Greg Monroe has signed on to play alongside Kevin Durant, Ron Artest and others in a charity basketball game Dec. 2 at Nassau Colisium in New Jersey. Proceeds from the game will benefit the Sports Athletic Enterprise “Kidz into Action” Foundation, according to the Long Island Report.

The foundation provides financial support to children and their families. It also organizes structured sports programs for youth. Joining Monroe, Durant (of the Oklahoma City Thunder) and Artest (of the Los Angeles Lakers) in the game are No. 1 overall pick Kyrie Iving, first-round pick Kemba Walker, Gary Forbes of the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers forward Ryan Gomes, Boston Celtics forward Jeff Green, New Jersey Nets forward Jordan Williams, guard Josh Selby and forward Sam Young, both of the Memphis Grizzlies.

If any Monroe fans are in the New York-New Jersey area, they can purchase tickets through Ticketmaster.com or the Nassau Coliseum box office.