Mike Trudell/Timberwolves site posts some lottery trivia:
Minnesota holds the third-best odds in this year’s lottery, and the
team with the third-best odds has won the lottery four times, the most
of any pre-lottery position
Remember, these are the Wolves we’re talking about. In 11 previous
trips to Lotteryland, they never have improved their position. That is,
their pingpong ball never has popped up. Now, that might seem entirely
logical and defensible to the statisticians among us, but to laymen and
average fans, it sounds a lot like flipping a coin 11 times and getting
11 consecutive "heads."
trips to Lotteryland, they never have improved their position. That is,
their pingpong ball never has popped up. Now, that might seem entirely
logical and defensible to the statisticians among us, but to laymen and
average fans, it sounds a lot like flipping a coin 11 times and getting
11 consecutive "heads."
The Wolves have, however, gotten unlucky, slipping a spot or three to
lose out on players who on merit — the merit of being lousier than the
other guys — should have been theirs…
lose out on players who on merit — the merit of being lousier than the
other guys — should have been theirs…
From Todd Kim/Radio Iowa:
Hoiberg says he’s excited to know where they are going to pick and he says they’ve been going around in circles trying to schedule workouts for the picks as they don’t know the draft order. The Wolves have a 13.8% chance of getting the top pick through tonight’s lottery. Hoiberg says he likes the weighted lottery to determine the N-B-A Draft order.
From Chad Ford/ESPN:
The Timberwolves, to judge from their track record, are the only team in the group that could mess things up even if it gets the No. 1 pick. Since Minnesota landed Kevin Garnett in 1995, no one has screwed up more drafts than Kevin McHale. There’s the infamous Joe Smith deal that cost the Wolves three first-round picks. Then, there’s the series of lottery blunders. In 1996, they swapped the rights of Ray Allen for Stephon Marbury. In 1999, they passed on All-Stars Marion and Richard Hamilton to draft Wally Szczerbiak. In 2005, they passed on Danny Granger and took Rashad McCants. And in 2006, they traded Brandon Roy for Randy Foye.
From Marty Burns/SI.com:
Timberwolves: Like the Grizzlies, they haven’t had much luck in the lottery. But if fortunes were to change and they could nab an elite point guard such as Rose to pair with Al Jefferson, the post-Kevin Garnett rebuilding plan would get a major boost. Vice president Kevin McHale certainly would be able to breathe a little easier.