With the immediate future of the NBA’s worst teams now chosen by the ping-pong balls, things look good for the regular season’s most inept franchise.
The 16-win Minnesota Timberwolves will pick first in the 2015 NBA Draft, less than a year after snaring 2014 first pick Andrew Wiggins in post-draft trade.
The T-Wolves – not big-market franchises in Los Angeles and New York – will choose between Karl-Anthony Towns and Jahlil Okafor, the two potentially franchise-changing centres at the top of every mock draft.
Conspiracy theorists were readying their I-told-you-sos at the prospect of the Lakers and Knicks being picked one and two. It didn’t happen. That either proves the draft is not rigged, or someone told NBA commissioner Adam Silver that the team with the best odds hasn’t won the lottery since 2004. It could be both. We are staying silent.
Either way, that the Knicks plummeted two spots to fourth was the night’s biggest slap in the face for an NBA team.
The lottery was also unkind to the ‘trust the process, not the results’ Philadelphia 76ers, who could have been picking first, sixth and 11th, but instead will just pick third.
So who were the biggest winners and losers on draft night? Let’s take a look …
Minnesota Timberwolves – winner
ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser compared Towns and Okafor to Shaquille O’Neal and Patrick Ewing. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves – eight years ago, Greg Oden was likened to David Robinson and Bill Russell – but these comments do show how highly regarded these 6ft 11in middle men are.
A line-up featuring either of these young men and Rookie of the Year Wiggins would potentially give Minnesota the best back-to-back rookies since O’Neal and Penny Hardaway linked up for the Orlando Magic in 1993.
Add to that the athleticism of Slam Dunk champion Zach Levine – and the fact that 2009 draftee Ricky Rubio is still only 24 – and the future looks bright in the City of Lakes.
Los Angeles Lakers – winner
Speaking of Lakes, Minneapolis’ former resident pro basketball team didn’t fare too badly on draft night. They will happily take whichever big man the Wolves don’t choose and then pair him with last season’s lottery pick Julius Randle to form a formidable frontcourt for the future.
There are also a couple of great point guards in this draft, but after last year’s second-round pick Jordan Clarkson became a surprise All-Rookie First Teamer, Lakers brass should do the sensible thing and choose whichever of this draft’s Big Two is left.
This is some fantastic luck for the Lakers, who would have sent their pick to the Sixers if it fell out of the top five. Somewhere, Kobe Bryant is nodding sagely.
Philadelphia 76ers – loser
In a way, not receiving a top-two pick saves the Sixers from themselves. With no choice but to pick one of the superstar bigs on offer, then would have surely traded either rookie defensive stud Nerlens Noel or 2014 third pick Joel Embiid, who missed the past regular season with injury. After all, this is the team that traded reigning Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams.
But the reputation of general manager Sam Hinkie may have taken a hit after his process again failed to yield a player expected to become a superstar. Guards Emmanuel Mudiay and D'Angelo Russell absolutely have the chance to become an All-Star and prove the draft experts wrong, but Hinkie will have wanted his destiny in his own hands.
New York Knicks – loser
Who knows whether the Knicks would have traded a top-two pick for immediate help, but they will surely look into moving the fourth selection for a star to pair with ageing scorer Carmelo Anthony. That could work. But the chance to get their hands on the franchise’s best big man since Ewing would have worked a heck of a lot better.
The Knicks remain a bit of a mess, with a roster bereft of talent outside of Anthony. They do have cap space, but none of this summer’s premier free agents, such as Marc Gasol and LaMarcus Aldridge, are expected to give the Big Apple more of a cursory glance. President Phil Jackson may still keep the pick and try to obtain the young building block that everyone outside of New York can see they so desperately need, but that just wouldn’t be Knicks-y enough for one of the NBA’s most unfailingly puzzling franchises.
Miami Heat – winner
It seems odd to call Miami a winner for keeping a top-10 draft pick just 11 months after contesting the NBA Finals.
President Pat Riley would have rather been contesting the playoffs than watching club legend Alonzo Mourning crossing his fingers as the team’s lottery representative, but that the Heat did not qualify for the post-season gives them a chance to pick up a nice young player to support their talented, ageing core.
If another non-playoff team with a better regular-season had leapfrogged them in the lottery, they would have gone home with no pick AND no playoffs. This is a win, even if it might not feel like one in championship-spoiled South Beach.
The NBA – winner
The 11 other lottery teams got what they deserved under current rules. As vast sections of NBA fans and media members continue to cry out for lottery reform, it is a blessing for the league that no borderline playoff team was rewarded with a top-three selection. Reform is coming, but this lotto status quo could quell some rash cries for an immediate and poorly considered change.
Full NBA Draft order:
1. Minnesota Timberwolves
2. LA Lakers
3. Philadelphia 76ers
4. New York Knicks
5. Orlando Magic
6. Sacramento Kings
7. Denver Nuggets
8. Detroit Pistons
9. Charlotte Hornets
10. Miami Heat
11. Indiana Pacers
12. Utah Jazz
13. Phoenix Suns
14. Oklahoma City Thunder
