OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Golden State Warriors finally caught a break again in the NBA draft lottery.
The Warriors stayed in the seventh spot Wednesday night, just high enough for the franchise to keep its protected lottery pick. The Jazz would have taken the pick as part of a previous trade if Golden State landed outside the top seven.
The New Orleans Hornets won the lottery.
New Warriors general manager Bob Myers -- and his lucky Indian token -- represented the team on stage at the drawing in New York, and co-owner Peter Guber also was in the audience. Golden State had the seventh-worst record at 23-43 and only needed to not fall back.
As part of last year's trade that sent Deron Williams to New Jersey, the Jazz would've acquired the first-round pick that originally belonged to Golden State. Utah also lost its own first-round pick to Minnesota as part of the trade that netted Al Jefferson in 2010. If the Jazz had not made the playoffs, where they were swept by San Antonio, they would have retained that pick.
The Warriors were long overdue for a change of fortune.
The last time Golden State moved up in the draft lottery was in 1995, when it selected Maryland's Joe Smith with the No. 1 overall pick. The team has now stayed where it was slotted or fallen back in the 15 lotteries since.
This time, staying put was cause for celebration.
"Great news that we have the 7 pick!" Warriors coach Mark Jackson immediately wrote on his Twitter account.
The Warriors needed a late-season slide and a bit of luck just to be in this position.
Golden State lost 17 of its final 20 games and won a coin flip last month to break a tie with Toronto, which also finished 23-43, moving up to the seventh spot and dramatically improving the team's chances of staying there.
Golden State had a 72.6 percent chance of keeping the No. 7 pick, 12.6 percent chance of moving up and 3.6 percent chance of winning the lottery. Toronto remained at eighth after the lottery.
The Warriors also own San Antonio's pick (30th overall) -- acquired in a trade this season for Richard Jefferson in exchange for Stephen Jackson -- and a pair of second-round selections.
The draft is June 28 in Newark, N.J.
The Hornets moved up from the fourth spot, where they had a 13.7 percent chance, to earn the pick.
Charlotte, after going 7-59 for the worst winning percentage in NBA history, fell to the No. 2 pick. Washington will pick third.
The Bobcats had a 25 percent chance of grabbing the No. 1 pick.
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