CAVS WIN LOTTERY, CONSPIRACY THEORIES BEGIN
After the pain of losing LeBron (and the awful season that followed) the Cleveland Cavaliers have something to smile about after clinching the 1st and 4th lottery draft picks. But not everyone thinks it was luck.
Minnesota Timberwolves GM David Kahn – a man well-known for making controversial statements – reckons it was a fix.
He says he knew Minnesota was "dead" when it got down to the final three of himself, Utah executive Kevin O'Connor and Nick Gilbert – the son of Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert – who was born with neurofibromatosis (see picture).
"As soon as the 14 year old joined us, we were toast,” Kahn said. “There was no way the 14 year old was about to be denied in a league that has a habit of compelling storylines.
"Last year it was Abe Pollin's widow and this year it was a 14-year-old boy… We were done. I told Kevin: 'We're toast.' This is not happening for us and I was right."
The Wolves, with their league-worst 17-65 record, had a 25 percent chance of winning the top spot in Tuesday's draft lottery. But Minnesota will select second in next month's NBA draft. Kahn may face a fine.
For Cavs owner, Gilbert, however, getting the number one pick goes some way to relieving the pain of the LeBron saga: "It has been a roller coaster ride," he said. "Obviously shocking events took place last summer. It was a slow, long and painful haul to get through it, and maybe this will be the final straw of getting over the hump and having a lot of hope for the future."
Cleveland will have the top overall choice for the first time since 2003, when they selected LeBron.
Unfortunately for them, there is no LBJ-type talent available in this year's class – and they are expected to choose Duke's Kyrie Irving or Arizona's Derrick Williams as the new face of their franchise.
Toronto will select number five, Washington number six and Sacramento seventh.
The NBA draft will be held June 23 in Newark, New Jersey.
Image: NBAE / Getty
Do you like our work?
We have a tiny favour to ask. In 2018 we set out to make Hoopsfix sustainable by building our relationship directly with our readers. Up until now, Hoopsfix has been creating editorials, videos and podcasts to provide sorely missing coverage of the British game and its distinct culture and community.
We have funded Hoopsfix with our freelance work creating basketball media, but sadly that means not only does it fall behind our client’s priorities, but some of those clients are the same organisations we need to report objectively on putting us in a conflicted position.
We want to devote more time to our mission of helping British basketball reach its potential, and produce even more content for the basketball community by making Hoopsfix a sustainable 100% independent business funded directly by our readers through Patreon.
If everyone who enjoys our content chose to support us, our future would be much more secure. For as little as $3 per month, you can support Hoopsfix – and it only takes a minute.
We are tremendously honoured and humbled to have a community of people who value what we do, and we look forward to being at the forefront of the British game as it continues to evolve.
0 comments