Minnesota Timberwolves will get a chance to pick first in this year’s NBA Draft as the result of the draft lottery held on Thursday night.
Timberwolves (19-45) had the third-worst team in the league this year but entered the lottery with a 14 percent chance just like the Golden State Warriors (15-50) and Cleveland Cavaliers (19-46), who had the worst and second-worst regular-season record respectively. Warriors won’t be too sad about missing on the No. 1 selection, as they will pick second, but Cavs ended up falling all the way to No. 5.
The No. 3 selection belongs to Charlotte Hornets, while the No. 4 pick went to Chicago Bulls.
Minnesota will enter the NBA Draft with hopes to land a talent who can help All-Stars Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell turn around the franchise’s luck. Timberwolves picked No. 1 only once in their history when they took Towns as the top overall selection in 2015.
“There’s a lot of steps left in this journey for us, but today was a significant one,” said Timberwolves president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas. “We’re excited about the potential level of player that we can add to our organization, but at the same time, we are going to be very aggressive and look at every avenue to improve this team.”
Unlike some other years, in the 2020 draft class, there is no consensus No. 1 pick. The names that stand out, however, include Georgia’s shooting guard Anthony Edwards, Memphis’ center James Wiseman, and point guard LaMelo Ball, the brother of New Orleans Pelicans’ Lonzo Ball.
Warriors, on the other hand, will look to use the pick to extend their championship window and add talent around All-Stars Steph Curry, Clay Thompson, and Draymond Green. Golden State is reportedly considering several options including drafting a player as well as trading the pick for a proven veteran.
