The NBA Draft Lottery was held last night, and the expected outcome was right on the money, and even though it was a long wait of three months due to the coronavirus-forced suspension, it was worth it for the Minnesota Timberwolves, who got the No. 1 pick.  This year, the lottery was conducted online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while NBA officials did the actual draw in Secaucus, New Jersey.

NBA Draft Lottery Goes Off Without A Hitch

After the Timberwolves, the Golden State Warriors got the No. 2 pick, then the Charlotte Hornets followed with third.  Chicago will get fourth position, and all teams have fighting chances to move to a superior echelon.

Timberwolves team president Gersson Rosas said, “We know with the No. 1 pick we have the opportunity to draft an impact player who could immediately complement our young, strong core.” Rosas knows that his team has high odds of getting a prime selection in the draft scheduled for October 16.

Chicago had a 32% possibility of getting one of the top four positions, and Charlotte close to a 26% chance.  They lucked out over four teams that had better odd like the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Atlanta Hawks, the Detroit Pistons and the New York Knicks.

Timberwolves Ready To Rally After Draft Lottery

This was the first time for Minnesota to win the number-one selection since 2015, and, at that time, it took Karl-Anthony Towns out of Kentucky.  Also, the Timberwolves scored 19-45 this season, ending with a losing record.  It is the 14th time in 15 years that they failed to make the postseason.

The Warriors, with their number-two win, will have another asset as it seems for the next season.  They went from being five-time Western Conference champions to a 15-50 record this season.  That was partly due to an injury suffered by MVP Stephen Curry, who was only in for five games.  Klay Thompson was also unavailable, as he was recovering from an ACL injury.

Warriors general manager Bob Myers said, “I have no idea what the value is of that pick, how much people covet it, and I don’t think I’ll know that anytime soon,” he goes on. “But usually the No. 2 pick is pretty good. So, I think we’ll be happy what whatever options, whatever route we take.” Myers is happy with the selection his team got and he is open to accept more challenges along the way.

The NBA Draft Is Going To Be A Big Deal

This year the NBA draft was competitive.  With players like Anthony Edwards, James Wiseman and LaMelo Ball among the top candidates, the selection of the NBA draft lottery is going to see a lot of shifts in power next year.  The results of the lottery give Cleveland the fifth pick, followed by Atlanta, Detroit, New York, Washington, Phoenix, San Antonio, Sacramento and New Orleans at number 13.

The Upcoming NBA Season Could Be Delayed

At this point, no one knows when the new draft lottery picks will make their NBA debuts because the start of the 2020-21 season is unclear.  Chances are that it starts on December 1, but league commissioner Adam Silver said on an ESPN telecast that even this sounds kind of early.  There could be some delays, especially now that the country is facing a health crisis.

Silver stated that the NBA is delaying the start of the next season 2020-21 as it hopes to get fans back into the stadiums.  He is pushing for that because approximately 40% of the league’s projected revenue is related to having fans.  This is a crucial decision that must be carefully analyzed.

The NBA Wants Its Fans Back At Games

Having no fans at games represents a huge loss in financial revenue for the NBA and its players.  Discussions have been held to analyze if starting next season with one or multiple bubbles is possible, like the one in which the league is playing currently at Walt Disney World, Florida.  But the goal is to have fans back at games as usual.  Despite the success of the NBA Bubble, a basketball game is never the same without fans.

On this.  Silver said, “Our number one goal is to get fans back in our arenas.  My sense is, in working with the players’ association, if we could push back even a little longer and increase the likelihood of having fans in arenas, that’s what we would be targeting.”