The Draft Lottery Thread

[Klomp]

Its almost that time of year again. The lottery will be Tuesday the 17th.

Last year:

We will be represented on stage by the same man. Will our luck change?

[swenjj]

every year i look at the top one or two players and picture them on the team. this year the whole year i finally gave up and figured we just wont get the top player. now im fooling myself again into thinking we finally dont get hosed in the lotto. my thinking is its a year without a lebron/oden/howard type of player , and the top two players are at positions we dont need. (if rubio comes)

im not a conspiracy guy,but you get worn down after year after year of hopes up up up then dashed when they show our card early. when any team jumps up im like "crap, they are ahead of us"

i dont know if either of the top picks here can end up as a flat out superstar,but if irving can be dangerous and pg for us that is a vast improvement over what we now have. if he is a legit pg that is one less glaring weakness we have. so ill be excited if we get the top pick, just not freaking out like a shaq/lebron draft.

edit: just realized im a heck of a lurker lol, 10 years in and 505 posts. i feel like i know most of the posters on here and most probably never see me (virtually)

[Kumar]

Wolves won't get #1, they will pick 3rd and pick Kanter.

Biyombo is a nice prospect but the Wolves need a guy like Kanter on this team.

5 years from drafting Kanter it will look like an absolute steal - Irving will be a nice player but will not live up to expectations. Williams will be a 15/8 career player.

Luck isn't a part of the NBA Draft. Stern has something against Minnesotans, and Indians.

[Torcher]

4th or 3rd pick, here we come...

For all you believers out there, here's a word of advice: Expect the worse, so when it comes, you will be prepared.

[cpfsf]

trade the pick, trade the pick, trade the pick

[Esohny]

trade the pick, trade the pick, trade the pick

Be careful what you wish for. Who knows what trade Kahn would accept? That thought scares me almost as much as thinking about who he would draft.

[Beas]

Not going to lie, I'm looking forward to this off season more than any other. Unfortunately the lockout might mess things up but I feel like we make some big changes to this team for next year. For the record, I think we land the #3 pick in the lottery.

[cpfsf]

4th or 3rd pick, here we come...

For all you believers out there, here's a word of advice: Expect the worse, so when it comes, you will be prepared.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7_thRv6yQE&feature=related[/youtube]

[Kumar]

The Wolves are going to get a good player regardless of their position - I say that with hesitation because David Kahn is making the pick, but theoretically, we can get the 4th best prospect out of this draft.

Wolves win, regardless of Lottery outcome.

[Basti]

Eh, this is the 1st year that not even my most optimistic side of me hopes to finally get the 1st pick. Or the 2nd. I know we're going to end up picking at #3 at best.

Next year, though, when we finally have to give our pick to the Clippers, we'll move up. It's just our luck.

[Devilzsidewalk]

I still can't decide what to think about Derrick Williams if the Wolves are in position to get him. I'm excited about the thought of having a big time shotblocker @ the 5 like Biyombo and though I'm personally a little skeptical about his speed, playmaking, and body of work, I dont want to personally, or see the Wolves, go against the grain and get clever passing on Irving.

At the same time, the more I see of Williams, the more polished and ready to take off that guy looks. Those quick decision face up moves and finishes w/ either hand are pretty advanced for his age. Doesn't have the size and force of Blake Griffin or Amare, but he's got his own brand of tenaciousness that's going to take him a long way. That guy can jump 2 times before other guys can even find the ball. Has that star mentality too. Not the a-hole i-think-i'm-better-than-i-am mentality, but the mentality where he's passionate about kicking your ass on the court.

Seems to have great intangibles overall, but the big worry for me is his size and position. I think he's a PF all the way, we'd have to play Love @ center which sounds scary. I'd take it over Love/Darko though w/o any hesitation. It makes us a small frontcourt, but very agile w/ the best outside shooting @ the 3/4/5 in the NBA and good rebounding too. If we had a creative coach, it could create some very nice mismatches on offense.

[Vindicater]

Unfortunately we have Rambis so Derrick Williams will be used as a defensive specialist off the bench.

[The J Rocka]

I have a feeling we'll get first. I just believe it's our turn this year. When I play the draft lotto on espn, seeing Irving's picture next to our logo looks correct to me. Just a hunch, gotta stay positive.

[Krapinsky]

I still can't decide what to think about Derrick Williams if the Wolves are in position to get him. I'm excited about the thought of having a big time shotblocker @ the 5 like Biyombo and though I'm personally a little skeptical about his speed, playmaking, and body of work, I dont want to personally, or see the Wolves, go against the grain and get clever passing on Irving.

At the same time, the more I see of Williams, the more polished and ready to take off that guy looks. Those quick decision face up moves and finishes w/ either hand are pretty advanced for his age. Doesn't have the size and force of Blake Griffin or Amare, but he's got his own brand of tenaciousness that's going to take him a long way. That guy can jump 2 times before other guys can even find the ball. Has that star mentality too. Not the a-hole i-think-i'm-better-than-i-am mentality, but the mentality where he's passionate about kicking your ass on the court.

Seems to have great intangibles overall, but the big worry for me is his size and position. I think he's a PF all the way, we'd have to play Love @ center which sounds scary. I'd take it over Love/Darko though w/o any hesitation. It makes us a small frontcourt, but very agile w/ the best outside shooting @ the 3/4/5 in the NBA and good rebounding too. If we had a creative coach, it could create some very nice mismatches on offense.

It would be one thing to have an undersized frontcourt with quick defending wings, but to have an undersized frontcourt with wings that can't stay in front of anyone is a bad combination. I just don't see how Williams would make us much better. For that reason, I think I'm putting him #4 on my Wolves board (assuming we can't work out some kind of trade on draft night) behind Biyombo and Kanter.

[Devilzsidewalk]

I'm not interested in Kanter at all, I'm tired of having both guys in the frontcourt being slow and unathletic. I don't want to watch Love and Kanter huffing and puffing behind Rubio on fastbreaks and looking in bewilderment at Rubio as his alley oop passes sail unattainably beyond their 20 inch verticals

[Foye]

I wouldn't be that unhappy if we ended up 3rd or 4th and picked Biyombo.

Knowing this organization we'll probably pick someone far worse, though.

[lewdog]

When we get the third/fourth pick I’d be cool with:

a) Taking Biyombo and pair him up with Love.

b) Taking Kanter and pair him up with Randolph. Trade Love for a serious package.

c) Close our eyes and pretend Rubio was our draft pick (this year), get our 2012 pick back from the Clips, fire Kahn and Rambis (after the 2011-’12 season) and let a professional GM draft for us next year.

C is my personal favorite option. Especially the Kahn and Rambis part.

[karch34]

First year that the most optimistic I can be is that we only drop 2 spots and not 3. Haven't even commented on what if scenarios as I just don't even want to jinx us more.

[shrink]

Lottery Odds
25.0% #1
21.5% #2
17.8% #3
35.7% #4
Expected value: 2.642

The Top Pick has a lot of publicity value (aka trade value), and I think there is a sizable talent gap between 2 and 3. If we end up with the second pick, we'll have beaten the odds.

[Foye]

4th pick here we come. 3 more days until this board sinks in hopelessness.