(Thanks to uncle rico for the video suggestion.)
After 20 years of existence the Wolves have 1 Western Conference Finals appearance, a single hall of famer, and no top two picks. The Wizards have the number one pick and a cuckoo clock, Gilbert Arenas.
After taking the obligatory 20-30 minutes of fretting, I had to remind myself of a few things:
- There are 4 solid players in this year's draft.
- The Wolves picked in the 1 spot where they had the best chance of ending up.
- Barring a reach/disaster, they will get a player that will immediately help them.
For what it's worth, I was impressed with the way in which David Kahn handled the night's events. While he does indeed have a touch of used car salesman to him, he has been making a consistent pitch over the last week or so concerning the team's draft prospects. They are going to get a good player and they have enough assets to move around before, during, and after draft day.
The big kicker is that they would have still had these assets to move around to greater effect should they have been lucky enough to land in the top 2 and walked away with John Wall or Evan Turner. Instead of having their #1 BPA land in their laps, they will have to spend to get there or settle for someone else. Also, I have a hard time believing that they will be able to trade up with the Wiz, Philly, and New Jersey ahead of them.
On his conference call with reporters after the lotto, Kahn was quick to mention the following:
- "I know that the first reaction is one of despair and disconsolation. It's just not that kind of night for me. I have no idea how the draft will play out with the top 4 picks. I assume that Wall is number one...but I don't know how [the rest of the top 4] will play out."
- "We have enough maneuverability to move around in the draft....[the lotto wasn't] the type of event that will disturb the plans of this team greatly."
- He doesn't think that 1-2-3 is Wall, Turner, and Cousins "in my mind" and he mentioned that his top 4 would look different. He didn't take the bait on answering if Favors was on this list but he did mention that he thinks the Wolves will get a good pick if the status quo remains in place.
- He mentioned that there is still plenty of time between now and the draft for another player (or two) to insert themselves into the top 4.
Random thoughts to wrap up the night:
- You can bet that one of Kahn's first calls will be to Philly.
- The prospects of a Wes Johnson/Corey Brewer wing are horrifying. I think my daughter's team has better ball handlers.
- Evan Turner has already apologized to Wolves fans.
- The Wolves really need to do their homework on DeMarcus Cousins. My gut feeling right now is that they take him with the 4th pick and then move him for an established wing player. Call #2 for Kahn should be to Portland.
- Kahn mentioned several times throughout the day (most notably on KFAN with PA) that this draft is deep in wing talent. I don't see it; maybe in the mid-round, but not up top.
- If the status quo remains in place, the Wolves walk away with either Favors, Turner, or Cousins. That's not a bad thing.
- I don't want to be sitting here next year crossing my fingers for Harrison Barnes to be the team's Basketball Jesus.
- I'm not sure it was possible, but the lotto results made sure that Kahn is even more tied to Ricky Rubio than ever before.
- There still is a possibility that Evan Turner falls to the 4th pick. Cousins and Favors could grade out well in the workout process and Aminu could move up.
- The Wolves made some money when their pay-the-pick promo netted them $4/ticket. They also made some money under the cap with a lower pick. These two probably aren't positives however.
- ESPN's trade machine is going to get a workout from Philly and Minny fans.
Well folks, that about does it. It was an interesting day. I'll have more tomorrow. In the mean time don't forget to check out our Twitter feed, A Wolf Among Wolves, Darren Wolfson's Twitter feed, and our sister SB Nation sites (Bullets Forever is going nuts tonight).
Until later.