By Chris Schad
For years the NBA Draft Lottery has been surrounded by a cloud of secrecy that has never favored the Minnesota Timberwolves. Out of the truckload of non-playoff seasons that made the annual disappointment a tradition, the Timberwolves have never picked higher than second overall in a NBA Draft.
While Minnesota has been snake bitten, several other franchises have seen the ping pong balls shower them with gifts from the basketball gods. But for every Shaquille O’Neal or Kyrie Irving that comes ready to save the frozen metropolis, the Wolves are cursed with Christian Laettner and Derrick Williams.
Throughout all of this the NBA has repeatedly stated that the lottery is not rigged despite the Cleveland Cavaliers winding up with the top pick three times in the past four years after LeBron James took his talent to South Beach … and when Chicago native Derrick Rose fell into the Bulls’ lap despite the team having the ninth best chance to capture the top pick … or the many other conspiracies that keyboard warriors can come up with.
However, let’s say that something fishy is going on behind the scenes and Adam Silver is personally mixing up the ping pong balls. Instead of seeing the Wolves combination come up on the giant big board and telling his minions to draw again, he might want to rethink that strategy this time around.
Despite having the best odds (25%) of obtaining the top overall pick in next month’s NBA draft, things are looking up for one of the league’s most abysmal franchises. For starters, the front office finally came out smelling like roses after dealing Kevin Love to the blessed Cavaliers last summer thanks to a young star named Andrew Wiggins.
With that deal (which could become the heist of the century if Love makes his expected departure to play for the Lakers this summer), the Timberwolves have one marketable superstar that could use another sidekick.
Zach LaVine could fill such a role after an electric rookie season, but good teams in the NBA seem to come in threes. Just ask the Boston Celtics (Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen), Miami Heat (LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade) and even the team-oriented San Antonio Spurs (Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili) how a trio can help spawn a dynasty.
However, the color of this question, as it always is in professional sports, is green. Could a Minnesota powerhouse generate tons of money for the NBA? Well, considering that fans of that market flocked in droves to see a 39 year old sit on the bench for the second half of the season, it’d be a safe bet that they’d pay to see Jahlil Okafor or Karl Anthony-Towns in a Timberwolves uniform.
Twenty-three years after being slighted for the likes of Shaquille O’Neal and Alonzo Mourning, it’s time for the NBA to throw this cursed franchise a bone. They’ve stuck through the likes of Isaiah Rider and Ricky Davis and will show an ungodly amount of support for a team that’s actually good.