How the 2020 NBA Lottery changed the Minnesota Timberwolves future
By Bret Stuter
Timberwolves 2020 lottery time
After the 2019-2020 season, the Minnesota Timberwolves had the NBA’s third-worst record. Their 19-45 season was a horrific plummet from their 47-35 finish two years earlier. But that team had Jimmy Butler, and Butler tends to carry teams to the post-season. The Timberwolves were all but fleeced in a trade that sent Butler to the Philadelphia 76ers.
The following year? The Timberwolves fell to 36-46. The year after? 19-45.
To get value, you must surrender value. Somehow, that exchange of fair value has not been the strong suit of Timberwolves’ president-coach Tom Thibodeau. Now he’s gone, and so is Butler. The Timberwolves still had their dominating center in Karl-Anthony Towns, but who would the team pair with him?
And the winner of the 2020 NBA Lottery is…
The answer became apparent after the 2020 NBA Draft Lottery results were known. With just a 14.0 percent overall likelihood of winning the number one pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, the Timberwolves emerged on top.
The Minnesota Timberwolves were not set to claim the best player in the 2020 NBA Draft. There was no clear consensus for the top overall. But the 2020 Big Board was loaded with talent. But of the Top Five chosen in that draft, the Minnesota Timberwolves appear to have made the best choice possible.