Each and every May, well after the Wolves' first month of summer break is complete, buzz about the annual NBA draft lottery begins. It is a day to celebrate ineptitude, poor performance, and general lack of accountability. It is a day mired in disappointment, but filled with (ALWAYS for naught) hope. And every single year the Wolves come up short. In fact, in all of the Wolves' years in the lottery, the team has not moved up a single time. Not once. Year after year, we either stand pat in our position, or get pushed back by whichever team owner's daughter developed a mid-Spring fellatiatic relationship with Commissioner Stern.

While we have stood pat numerous times, the weeks surrounding the lotto are often a days filled with frustration, ridiculous trade scenarios only rivaling Knick/Raptor-fan level of insanity, and 12 months of frustrations all boiled down to a single big bang event resulting in the lids being blown off of the fifteen remaining (up 7 versus a year ago!) Target Center faithful. The lottery is not a good day. And no matter how many times one tries to convince themselves otherwise, it is an isolated statistical event every year. It is not predicated on last year's lottery."We must win this year!! It's our turn!!" need not apply. The only certainly in the lottery from team-Wolf is death and any form of luck flushing into the Minneapolis water system with the rest of the Spring runoff that makes water taste like dead fish. And while each lottery is a separate statistical event, let it be known that only a single time in the last 20 years (Orlando - Dwight Howard...and Cleveland for LeBron but they were tied) has the last place team won the lottery. Speaking of which, let's cut the team-loathing metaphors and talk about the damn thing.

Before we begin, let's briefly go ahead and discuss the draft lottery for those who, heaven forbid, do not understand how it works and perhaps have hobbies.To put it plainly, it is very similar to the Powerball. Each team is sorted by level of retardation from worst (the Wolves) to least worst of the non-playoff teams. Based on record, the team with the worst regular-season record has the best chance to 'win' the lottery based on the outcome of the Powerball-like lottery. The Wolves have a 25% chance to win, while all other teams have a smaller chance. The picks are drawn based on a number combination, and the team with the highest % to win (again - the Wolves) has the highest # of winning combinations. 

Here are how the % odds work out for the Wolves:

1st - 25%

2nd - 21.5%  

3rd -  17.8%

4th/Hiroshima come late - 35.7%

Statistics can be a funny thing (if you are, indeed, amused by statistics). Our odds, from a single pick standpoint, are most skewed towards 4th overall (absolutely bound to happen, sorry). However, our odds of getting 1-3 are 64.3%. More basic addition fun yields these percentage breakdowns: Odds of the Wolves picking in the top 2 = 46.5%. Odds of picking 2-4 = 75%.  3-4 = 53.5%. And most shockingly, the odds of picking 1-4= 100% (to the nitpicking-reader-type who just sprouted a mild erection at the opportunity to call me out here: I obviously know the Wolves can't pick any worse than 4. It was an attempt at cynical, sarcastic humor. Thank you, now go away).

You see, the lottery is only for the top three picks overall. The rest are simply settled by reverse record. This is what makes watching the lottery coverage perhaps a more dramatic television experience than MacGyver and the Lost Treasure of Atlantis. For when the picks are revealed, it is done so in reverse order, meaning you know immediately whether a team has moved into the top 3 and appropriately completed its annual tradition of shoving a baseball bat deep into the back-end of the Wolves braintrust. You will actually see the life drain out of Kahn's face in real time.  Tomorrow.

Speaking of Kahn, in a move to further our luck, the Wolves have decided to send him as our representative. I can't decide whether I want the Wolves to win the #1 pick for a chance at Kyrie Irving, or to hear how Kahn handles the Rubio questions if we were to win. Either way, is there a way this situation will end in anything but disappointment? I hate to keep being Negative Nancy, but if the Wolves win we have to decide between Irving/Rubio and potentially trade the 1st pick overall. Or  does Kahn do the inexplicable and pass on Irving (bad feeling here)? If we get 2nd, Derrick Williams is a bad fit. If we get 3rd or 4th, if you believe Kahnzone are taking anything other than Kanter or Vesely you are kidding yourself. Trade out you say? What will teams give up with CBA uncertainly and the weakest draft in ten years? Not to mention this is our last opportunity to upgrade through the draft, as the Clippers will have our top selection next season. 

As I have said before this is either going to be a very good, or very bad month for the Wolves.

Rather than hashing out any more conditional hypoethicals (what if the Wolves get 1 or 2? What if we get 4? Would we do this trade or sign this guy? What sort of false hope can we generate that Glen will spend any money to bring anyone here? Blah blah blah my head hurts)...I'm going to wait until tomorrow night to make any form of  what-if lotto comment. For now it's about sitting and crossing the fingers and hoping we can get lucky.

In the meantime, I'll have a mushroom cloud photo queued up to hit this page at about 7:45pm tomorrow.

Be sure to check back later this week when the TWB staff breaks down their top 10 and discusses the lotto results.

I like to do a Google Images search before I write my post to see if there's anything interesting that I can use to spice up my posts.  In the past, I've had mixed results.  For example, a few weeks back, I happened to stumble upon the awesomeness that is Courage Wolf.  Today, while searching for "Iggy", thinking that I'd find a picture of an iguana or one of the Koopa Kids from Super Mario Bros. 3, I was treated with this...

Now that you've been sufficiently horrified this Monday morning, we'll get to the point of this post.

Rumors have begun to swirl that Andre Iguodala may be on the trading block.  As anyone who's visited the forum lately knows, this is a pretty big deal here at TWB as College Wolf has been lusting for Iggy to join the Wolves for months. A lot of the forum conversation (a.k.a. bickering back and forth between Dave and Mike) has centered around whether an Iggy/Love deal would be a worthwhile move to persue.  However, the thinking there was that the Sixers were content with Iguodala and the Wolves would have to give them a pretty sweet package to convince them to part ways. If, as this article suggests, Philadelphia is actually a bit disenchanted with Iggy and looking to move his rather sizeable contract, then it's entirely possible that Minnesota could acquire him without handing over K. Lav. 

So what do you think the play should be here for the Kahn man, you know, assuming he's willing to break the mold and pursue someone who's not a European or overly smiley? 

I personally think the aforementioned Love/Iguodala swap might be a slight upgrade, but not enough to get the Wolves over the hump, so we won't even go thre.

As CW mentioned in his forum post on the subject, a deal involving anyone other than Love, Rubio, and the #1 pick this year if the Wolves win it (yeah, right) would probably be good value for the T-Wolves.  I'd tend to agree, as a core of Rubio/Love/Iggy could be a solid foundation for a playoff team. 

What are your thoughts on a potential trade?  Discuss away either in the comments below, or the forum.

Rajon Rondo dislocated his elbow on the cheap takedown by D-Wade above... and yet he came back and helped lead the Celtics to a 16 point victory over the Miami cHeat tonight.  Good thing we didn't get him in the KG trade, we didn't need a warrior like this on our team.

Is the End of the Bermuda Triangle upon us?

Leave it to Little Birdies to provide the first hint or lick of Rambis news in weeks. While it is only one sentence from Shooter Walters that should be taken with an Oliver Miller-sized portion of salt, it is at least something. And it's great news for the 87.5% of Wolves fandom (7 of 8 people) who would like to see a changing in the guard on the sidelines:

 A little birdie says the Timberwolves are negotiating a buyout on the remaining two years of coach Kurt Rambis' contract. 

This is encouraging, to say the last. But who would replace Rhombus? There are likely going to be several much more attractive coaching jobs opening up this offseason, and the Wolves will surely be left out to dry if Rambis gets canned. And will Taylor break the bank and make a major investment in a high priced replacement? History says absolutely not. Despite the candidacy implications (or lack thereof), can it get much worse than Rambis? 32 wins in two seasons would say no. Personally, I am inclined to try a young, energetic rising assistant in the Dwayne Casey mold. A workhorse who knows his players and builds an offense around what they do well.

Or Rick Adelman, but he probably would cost far too much.

Either way it is maddening this process once again is taking forever. Who knows how long this will take or if it will be done before draft day. 

This could be a significant month for us. With the draft lottery weeks away, a potential new coach in the works, and the Rubio saga finally perhaps reaching its conclusion, this could all turn out very good, or very bad. Stay tuned.

Just wanted to catch up to post a few thoughts/musings/bullet points now that the dust has settled on the Wolves' horrendous season. There will be little-to-no focus in the following, so if you are sensitive to that sort of thing, please raise your nose even higher.

-It has been about sixteen days since the Wolves' season ended. Lockout be damned, we have now traversed through about 12% of the offseason and have already demonstrated our continued incompetence by doing absolutely nothing. I find this eerily similar to a family member I have who has a "harsh" car-accident history, including one doozy where she managed to initiate an accident in a parking lot while her car was completely empty and she was shopping inside. How this came to be I will leave a mystery, but it happened.

-It seems reasonable to assume that following the season, most Wolves fans expected immediate action in the firing of head coach Kurt Rambis, which would include finally unearthing the great Bermuda Triangle mystery and putting it to rest. Glen Taylor recently stated he was taking time to complete evaluations of his staff, but yet we hear nothing as the draft approaches. Speaking of coincidences, this is exactly what happened two years ago when we went into the draft without a coach or system in mind. We then drafted Jonny Flynn. It is reassuring that management has learned from their mistakes. Or we can assume the worst: Rambis is staying.

-In what seemed to me like an un-smart move, The Warriors fired head coach Keith Smart the other day, mere weeks after he lead the Warriors to a 10-win improvement vs. 2010. 36 wins gets you fired in today's NBA. Rambis is not far behind, at 32 wins. Oh wait, that's how many wins Rambis has in two seasons combined, yet here he is seemingly still ready to return to the sidelines. Absolutely baffling, on both accounts. How can you fire a coach who leads your team to a ten-win improvement? 40% more wins than last year! On the flip-side, how can you keep a coach running a system meant for carrier pigeons who coached the Wolves to one of the worst 2-year stretches in NBA history? What I would give to have a normal front office.

-Recent reports have surfaced that Ricky Rubio's team has given him the green light to sign with Minnesota. Noted in this article is that it would be best if Ricky signed with Minny before the end of May. As for "green lights" and "go aheads" I must have missed it within after Google Translating. Here is a forum link where you can view the translation. All this seems to be is a statement of the CBA deadline spun into a story by a Spanish reporter. Oh well, at least we have news other than Kahn's word (and like Peter Banning in "Hook," Kahn's "word is his bond"). So, hopefully we will learn his fate within the next thirty days. It is strange that it has already been nearly two years since Ricky was drafted by us. The end to the saga could be nearing. However, with the lockout looming I am having a tough time seeing him come over. The kid will have to pay his way in order to play for Kurt Rambis while simultaneously being called a "special person" by David Kahn. Doesn't Kahn's tonality and day-care-leader-esque phrasing bear a striking resemblance to Mr. Rogers? Kahn even "Plays Make Believe" regularly to the press. It is all too suspicious.

-Kevin Love has been a hot topic around here, whether he is worth a max contract or not. No one seems to think so, while some seem to think it is a mandate to gain his long term commitment. Some want to trade him for Andre Iguodala, some want to keep him for fear of losing their odd man-crush. The basis of the 'trade-Love' argument is that the team needs more defense on the perimeter. Also,  Love "does little to help the team win" because he is a poor defender, a problem that, apparently, Beasley/Randolph can solve. These collective benefits are "better than signing Love to a long-term, expensive deal." That may be. Nobody knows for sure. But, does the source of the qualm stem from player ability to defend on the perimeter, or is this a Rambis issue? We have competent defenders. Who is to say Iguodala's presence would suddenly give Rambis the idea that, "hey, maybe closing out on three point shooters is a good idea. That way, I can prevent Ty Lawson from hitting ten straight threes, the most consecutive in the history of the National Basketball Association."

I'm just saying.

And Beasley/AR are better post defenders than Love? They would fill the void with their consistency? Please. Look, there are some deals for Love worth getting behind, but the bottom line is this: he is not and should never be a scapegoat for this team. He is the last thing wrong with our roster as it stands today.

-The lottery is approaching. We will have a 25% chance of nabbing the #1 pick, and a 100% chance of coming away with Jan Vesely, Jonas Vonaskfocweiocjweiojefowejdiowjdiweygyhuincnefjio$$$^^^&&&^^^^!123456weiojdewious, or Enes Kanter. Buckle up! More coverage there in the coming weeks.

-Lastly, enjoy the playoffs. Just watching the intensity of these games reminds me, sadly, of just how far the Wolves have to go, even with considerable upgrades in talent. Would Wes Johnson ever have hit a shot like Gary Neal did? No. It just breeds with a winning culture, something we are so far from right now. Anyhow, there have been some fantastic games only March Madness can replicate. Some surprises as well. Tune in and enjoy some real NBA basketball. 

When it comes to the young Spanish "Superstar" there remain so many intangibles....not  including his eyebrows. 

These beco me more and more confusing as time passes......so let's rewind to summer 2009, just after the NBA draft.

David Kahn, according to ESPN, has spent all summer trying to carve out some sort of solution to the Rubio contract complexities and eventually has to abandon hope of Rubio joining the Twolves in the immediate future.

"Of course there's disappointment, but I don't think that disappointment should overshadow the big picture, which is, he's still so young," Kahn told ESPN. "It appears now we will have a two-year wait. But if you frame it as he'll be 20 years old and he'll have two more years to develop, I can think of a lot worse things to happen to us as a franchise."

"Two more years to develop.." hold that thought and let's push the fast forward button to 2011.

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Photo Source

From the Timberwolves' Twitter Feed:

Form vs. Function, Funk vs. Fusion... the aesthetic of the game vs. the utility of the win. This is what Ben Polk describes in his post here: "Charming ruins: David Kahn and Kurt Rambis in Springtime." Ultimately you need to find that zen as a team where you are playing the game as it is meant to be played, to the greatest degree you can (whatever degree that is), and you are still able to accomplish your function- that is, winning enough.

For our team this year, enough would have been around 30 wins. We were an up and coming young team with some good pieces. Ultimately for me the aesthetic was decidedly off. Beasley's early season scoring binge took the eye off the team as a whole before Love's double-double streak permanently ended any semblance of a team mission.

There are a million satellites on the blogosphere where we can deconstruct the various sources of failure for the Team this year. The bottom line to me is that the concept of Team failed and that is that.

As far as a productive discussion moving forward goes, the better questions to ask are, "what needs to be done in order to strike the balance between trying to win, and playing the game right?" Or, more importantly, "what changes need to be made in order for us to start to play the game right?"