Tonight, at Disney/ABC’s Times Square Studios in New York City, the 76ers will discover their draft-night fate. They'll know the draft slot for their pick and New Orleans', and whether the Pelicans retain their selection or owe it to the Sixers as compensation for a trade last summer.

The Sixers find themselves pinning their hopes on the ping-pong balls of the NBA’s Draft lottery for the 13^th time in its 30 years of existence. Here’s a look at the mathematical odds for the Sixers’ pick in relation to particular slots in the draft:

(AP)

No. 1 … 19.9 percent

No. 2 … 18.8

No. 3 … 17.1

No. 4 … 31.9

No. 5 … 12.3

In addition to their lottery selection, the Sixers hold the rights to New Orleans’ first-round pick – assuming the Pelicans don’t win the lottery and land anywhere in the top 3. Here’s a breakdown of the Pelicans’ statistical odds in the lottery:

No. 1 … 1.1 percent

No. 2 … 1.3

No. 3 … 1.6

No. 10 … 87.0

No. 11 … 8.9

No. 12 … 0.2

No. 13 … 0.1

Other notes on the NBA Draft lottery:

• The Sixers hold potentially two lottery selections: theirs and New Orleans’. The Pelicans’ pick is top-five protected, so if they “win the lottery” and land in one of the top-three picks, they would retain it. The Sixers would be owed a top-five protected, first-round selection for the 2015 draft as future compensation.
• The Sixers’ draft-lottery representative will be Julius Erving. Last year, it was majority owner Joshua Harris.
• As the Sixers’ good luck charm, Dr. J will bring with him shards of glass from a backboard broken by Darryl Dawkins during a Dec. 5, 1979 game against San Antonio. Cherry Hill native Jake Spencer, the holder of the glass bits, had his entry selected during a team contest in conjunction with 97.5 FM The Fanatic.
• Only four times has the team with the league’s second-worst record won the lottery. The last occurrence was in 2009, with the Los Angeles Clippers. The Sixers finished with the league’s next-to-last mark, at 19-63.
• Only once have the Sixers won the lottery. That was in 1996, when they moved from No. 2 to No. 1 and selected Allen Iverson.

(Associated Press)

Thaddeus Young expects to be in the 76ers’ starting lineup, and Spencer Hawes is “hoping to” get clearance to play Friday night against visiting New Orleans.

Young, who returned to the team in Wednesday’s loss at Orlando, came off the bench in that game. It was his first appearance in four games, after being away since Nov. 18 for personal reasons. Young hadn’t come off the bench for the Sixers since May 26, 2012, in an Eastern Conference semifinal series against Boston.

“Probably going to be back in the starting lineup tonight,” Young said at Friday morning’s shootaround. “(Being a reserve) is not something I want to go back to. I’d rather start games off in the game. I’m definitely looking forward to getting back out there, getting in the flow of the game.”

Hawes has missed two straight with left knee soreness. He said he hasn’t had an MRI on the knee, which he tweaked a week ago against Milwaukee, but said he “felt pretty much normal” while running around at the morning shootaround.

“I’ll go through the stuff before the game and, if it’s OK, I’m ready to go,” Hawes said. “Sitting out is the worst. They are good seats, but it’s a terrible feeling. You want to be out there with your teammates.”

(AP)

The 76ers’ draft-day trade with New Orleans for rookie center Nerlens Noel will become official today, with the Pelicans hosting a 7:30 p.m. press conference to introduce Jrue Holiday.

The deal was delayed because Holiday had been on his honeymoon and could not sign the trade papers. Also, Wednesday was the first day on which trades could be announced, per NBA rules.

(AP)

The Sixers sent Holiday and the 42nd pick in last month’s draft to New Orleans in exchange for the rights to Noel and a partially lottery-protected, first-round pick in next year’s draft. (The Hornets would keep the pick should they be slotted anywhere in the draft’s top-five selections.)

In need of an impact post player, the Sixers made the aggressive move June 27 to swap Holiday, a 22-year-old All-Star point guard, for Noel, a 19-year-old center who’s rehabbing from surgery to repair a torn ACL. Noel, widely viewed as one of the draft’s top talents, slid to No. 6, where the Pelicans selected him.