The NBA's draft lottery kicks off in a couple of  hours. No, not the draft, the draft lottery--essentially a system that decides what teams will win the coveted first, second and third picks come draft day. No matter if you died a little inside when the Cavs lost to the Celtics last week or you think the Milwaukee Bucks are the mascot for hunting season, there's a good chance you'll find the strange debacle at least somewhat entertaining. Here's why:

• The New Jersey Nets' owner and his (comic) inability to smile. Russian millionaire Mikhail Prokhorov officially takes over the team this year. If the Nets' 12-70 record last year wasn't frightening, it's safe to say this "welcome" to the pending global community of Nets fans is. Fortunately, he'll be there tonight.
  

• It Won't be all About LeBron  The Sporting Blog's Dan Shanoff makes a case for watching so that fans of the game will be able to "forget the LeBron lottery for a moment." The reason? Whoever wins spot #1 gets the first pick of the crop, most likely a fresh-from-college player named John Wall, who has the potential to be the next LeBron.
  

• It Will be all About LeBron  For those who can't wait to see where James will end up, tonight could be more influential in his decision than not, says Cleveland.com's sports blogger, Starting Blocks. "Kentucky's John Wall will be the first pick in this year's draft. And where Wall goes could have an influence on where James will play next season."

• Sports Writer Wit  Because of the strange nature of the lottery's ping pong ball system, tonight is a rare time of year when sports bloggers can tickle themselves pink over the prospects of the outcome. Three worthy round-ups come from Fan Nation's Tom Ziller, Yahoo Sports's Trey Kerby and b-ball bloggers at Freedarko.
  

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at krust at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.