Will Alabama's Brandon Miller Go 2nd Or 3rd? NBA Expert Says Connection To Murder Has Not Impacted Him

Either way, Alabama superstar Brandon Miller will be on a United States coast.

He got it narrowed down to either the southeast in North Carolina with the Charlotte Hornets or the northwest in Oregon with the Portland Trail Blazers after the NBA Draft Lottery Tuesday night in Chicago. The draft will be June 22 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

RELATED: SAN ANTONIO WINS NBA LOTTERY

Charlotte finished second in the lottery and will pick No. 2 after lottery winner San Antonio, which is expected to select 7-foot-4 center Victor Wembanyama of France. Portland finished third with Houston at No. 4.

Brandon Miller and coach Nate Oats during SEC Tournament in Nashville on March 11. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images.)

Miller, a 6-foot-9 guard-forward who left Alabama after one season, has been projected as the No. 2 or 3 pick in the draft for several months.

Brandon Miller Or Scoot Henderson Could Go No. 2

Also projected as the second or third pick is 6-2 point guard Sterling "Scoot" Henderson of the NBA G League Ingnite team in Henderson, Nevada, near Las Vegas. Henderson, 19, played at Calton J. Kell High in Marietta, Georgia. Miller, 20, is from Cane Ridge High in Antioch, Tennessee.

Houston finished fourth in the lottery and is projected to select 6-7 guard Ausar Thompson of the Overtime Elite youth pro team in Atlanta, Georgia. Thompson, 20, went to Pine Crest High in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Miller's status has not fallen since his connection to an infamous murder near the Alabama campus on Jan. 15 that involved teammate Darius Miles. Miller, according to police testimony on Feb. 21, brought the eventual murder weapon to the murder scene. Miles had left his gun in Miller's car, and Miller brought it back to Miles after midnight on Jan. 15 on the Alabama Strip.

Brandon Miller Only A Witness

Miles took the gun and gave it to friend Michael Lynne Davis, who shot and killed Jamea Jonae Harris of Birmingham. Miller was questioned as a witness only in a preliminary hearing. He has never been charged.

Miles and Davis were each charged with capital murder and have remained in jail in Tuscaloosa since Jan. 15. They are each awaiting an updated bail hearing on May 24 that is not expected to involve Miller.

Character Issue Has Helped Brandon Miller

One NBA expert said Tuesday that Miller's character has not hurt him with the NBA.

"Teams have already spent a lot of time and resources on that particular event (Alabama murder) and the background of Brandon Miller," ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski said. "What I’m getting back from those organizations is, not only did they not find anything that they would consider disqualifying to select Brandon Miller, they are finding a young man who they say is mature, focused, whose character and his habits are actually an asset in their evaluation of him."

The No. 5 through No. 14 teams picked in the lottery Tuesday were Detroit, Orlando, Indiana, Washington, Utah, Dallas, Orlando via a trade with Chicago, Oklahoma City, Toronto and New Orleans. They will pick in that order on June 22.

NBA Draft Order Continued

The rest of the first round will follow in this order - Atlanta at 15, Utah (from Minnesota) at 16, Los Angeles Lakers at 17, Miami at 18, Golden State at 19, Houston (from the Los Angeles Clippers) at 20, Brooklyn (from (Phoenix) at 22, Portland (from New York) at 23, Sacramento at 24, Memphis at 25, Indianapolis (from Cleveland) at 26, Charlotte (from Denver) at 27, Utah (from Philadelphia) at 28, Indianapolis (from Boston) at 29 and Los Angeles Clippers (from Milwaukee) at 30.