Zach Lowe had a behind-the-scenes interview with the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Gersson Rosas at the lottery.
This year’s NBA Draft Lottery was weird for many reasons, and it wasn’t simply because the Minnesota Timberwolves moved up from their original slot for the first time in 23 tries.
It was also held virtually, with representatives for each team and NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum joining a video call to experience the results together.
Of course, there still had to be an actual drawing of the physical ping-pong balls, and the league always has a member of the media chosen to join team representatives for the actual drawing behind closed doors.
This year, ESPN’s Zach Lowe was there, and he penned a post-lottery piece that included some interesting Wolves nuggets.
Minnesota Timberwolves Roundup: Draft Lottery, Track the Pack
As it turns out, in order to limit the number of people in one spot during the pandemic, only nine people were in the actual room of the drawing, and not every lottery team was represented. The actual drawing is done by someone from the NBA offices while observed by an individual from the firm Ernst & Young.
Lowe’s piece is insightful; it breaks down the entire process that he went through as well as thoughts on each team. Lowe also had a quote from Rosas from earlier in the week and an interesting thought on the Wolves’ roster.
"Two days before the lottery, I asked Gersson Rosas, Minnesota’s president of basketball operations, if he had any lottery superstitions. He did not. “We’re due for something good to happen to us,” Rosas said, “after everything we’ve been through.” The lottery gods (a subset of the basketball gods) agreed.What a moment for Minnesota. As rosters stand now (subject to the usual offseason makeovers), the Wolves would probably be projected as one of the two or three worst teams in the loaded Western Conference. They owe their 2021 first-rounder, with teensy top-3 protection, to Golden State. Their team is (basically) for sale. There is no consensus No. 1 pick. If the Wolves feel pressure to chase a playoff spot, would they be open to sniffing around what they might get packaging that pick and trading down?"
First of all, Rosas wasn’t wrong. The Wolves were due for some good luck.
At first glance, Lowe’s comment about the Wolves being one of the two or three worst teams in the West seemed harsh. But … go and look at a list of Western Conference teams.
Of the non-playoff squads, there’s the Phoenix Suns, who went 8-0 in Orlando, the San Antonio Spurs, who still have Gregg Popovich and aren’t going to get any worse, and Ja Morant and the rising Memphis Grizzlies. Then you have the Golden State Warriors, who will obviously be a playoff team again once they’re at full health, and Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans.
That leaves basically the Sacramento Kings and the Minnesota Timberwolves as the consensus bottom-two teams.
We have plenty of time to discuss this over the upcoming offseason months, but it’s fair to assume that Phoenix may be overrated heading into next year, the Spurs may stagnate, and something weird happens to the Pelicans, per usual, who will have a new coach next year.
It’s also true that D’Angelo Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns have played one game together, so we don’t know just how good the Wolves will actually be.
At any rate, the one other Wolves-related nugget from the NBA Draft Lottery is that Zach Lowe somehow ended up with the Wolves envelope and winning placard. He even has a photo with proof of his acquisition.
Be sure to check out Lowe’s article in its entirety; it’s a fun read and there are a number of interesting lottery nuggets throughout.