Tuesday provides a ray of hope in the form of pingpong balls for the 14 NBA teams whose seasons ended a month ago.
At 8 p.m., the league will announce the order of the 2017 NBA draft with its annual lottery selection.
Despite their ineptitude over the past 16 years, this is just the second time since 2010 that the New York Knicks will have a lottery pick.
Unfortunately, they look slated to get the No. 7 selection after losing a coin toss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in April.
After a 31-51 season, the Knicks have an 18.3 percent chance to get a top-three pick in the draft and just a 5.3 percent chance to get the top overall selection.
Luckily for them, this is one of the deepest draft classes in the last decade, which means they still could be acquiring a valuable asset in June:
Best odds for top pick in 2017 NBA draft lottery
1. Boston Celtics: 64.3% (top 3 pick), 25% (No. 1 pick)
2. Phoenix Suns: 55.8% (top 3 pick), 19.9% (No. 1 pick)
3. Los Angeles Lakers: 46.9% (top 3 pick), 15.6% (No. 1 pick)
4. Philadelphia 76ers: 37.8% (top 3 pick), 11.9% (No. 1 pick)
5. Orlando Magic: 29.1% (top 3 pick), 8.8% (No. 1 pick)
6. Minnesota Timberwolves: 18.3% (top 3 pick), 5.3 % (No. 1 pick)
7. New York Knicks: 18.3% (top 3 pick), 5.3 % (No. 1 pick)
8. Sacramento Kings: 9.9% (top 3 pick), 2.8% (No. 1 pick)
9. Dallas Mavericks: 6.1% (top 3 pick), 1.7% (No. 1 pick)
10. New Orleans Pelicans: 4% (top 3 pick), 1.1% (No. 1 pick)
11. Charlotte Hornets: 2.9% (top 3 pick), 0.8% (No. 1 pick)
12. Detroit Pistons: 2.5% (top 3 pick), 0.7% (No. 1 pick)
13. Denver Nuggets: 2.2% (top 3 pick), 0.6% (No. 1 pick)
14. Miami Heat: 1.8% (top 3 pick), 0.5% (No. 1 pick)
