No, this is not a baseball post. I am currently in denial as to the state of the local baseball team, and will be attempting to distract myself as long as possible from their struggles.
The post title is instead an homage to the Minnesota Timberwolves history in the NBA draft lottery. I could've also gone with "Groundhog Day" or "Following The Bouncing Ball (Off A Cliff)". Last year's post was titled "Honestly, does anyone think this is going to go well?" Not surprisingly, it did not, and the Wolves are back in familiar territory as the worst team in the NBA as a result.
I could probably just re-post last year's version, as the broad strokes haven't changed much. The list of near-misses got a bit more stinging, with Derrick Rose moving into MVP territory and John Wall appearing to be the newest in a long line of superstars stolen by the ping-pong balls. The Wolves organization got a little lousier, with the on-court play treading water and the front office appearing shakier by the day. The biggest difference is the talent pool in this year's draft, which appears to be a lot thinner than at any time in recent memory. Although projections are only that, it's a bit tougher to get excited about winning the first pick when there isn't much of a consensus about who that guy is.
You'd be a fool to sneeze at the opportunity to pick first, that's obvious. But at the same time, there's typically a guy, like Wall last year, who makes fans salivate at the prospect of adding him to the roster. This year, the name most often mentioned is Kyrie Irving from Duke. The redundancy in that choice, picking a point guard Top 10 for the third time in three years, should make you chuckle. There are indications that Ricky Rubio may finally ride in on his white horse to save the franchise, would drafting another PG upset that apple cart? I'm not saying the team should care if it does, more of an observation on odd situations they always seem to find themselves in.
Beyond Irving, there's Derrick Williams, who is coming off a great NCAA tournament and would be a fun addition. Only problem is that a 6' 8" small forward is also pretty redundant on a team that has Michael Beasley and last year's 1st-rounder Wes Johnson pretty much in the same spot. Rest assured, I don't see Williams having a problem supplanting Johnson and/or Beasley, he just wouldn't do much in filling one of the many gaps on the squad. Otherwise, I'm seeing a crop of undersized centers and foreigners rounding out the Top 10. I'd find this whole thing much easier to get excited about if there was a scoring 2-guard who could play a bit of perimeter defense, but that guy does not appear to exist this season, at least not at the top of the round.
Being so ambivalent about this year's crop of draftees leads me to one conclusion: For the first time in their history, the Minnesota Timberwolves will win the NBA draft lottery.
What happens from there is anyone's guess. Maybe they package a couple of forwards for guard help and draft Williams. Perhaps they deal Rubio's rights and pick Irving to be the point guard of the future. Maybe they pull off some big time deal, sending the pick to a capped-out franchise in exchange for a superstar. There will certainly be many options opened up by winning this thing, which is never a bad thing. But after missing out on so many franchise-changing talents over the years, winning it this season would have a bittersweet tinge.
But hey, whatever keeps my mind of the Twins for a day.
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