The 2015 NBA draft lottery order was revealed Tuesday evening at the New York Hilton Midtown in Manhattan, and the Minnesota Timberwolves landed the No. 1 overall pick.Pingpong balls filled the lottery machine, which determined the fates of all of the franchises involvedtotally leaving things up to chance.The Timberwolves showed the reactions of its coaching staff after getting the No. 1 pick:Check out the post-lottery order below:Owner Glen Taylor was the representative for the Timberwolves, who badly need their pick of the lot of top prospects to get out of the basement of the Western Conference. Slam Magazine highlighted how significant the occasion was for Minnesota:SportsCenter noted how rare it is for the team with the best lottery odds to actually wind up with the No. 1 pick:As for which player Minnesota will take, per the Timberwolves' PR team, "We don't know who we're going to pick. There's a lot of different directions we can go."Saunders also said "Fans in attendance groaned as the hometown New York Knicks, armed with the second-best odds for the No. 1 pick at 19.9 percent, slid to No. 4. General manager Steve Mills bowed his head slightly when the announcement was made. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports suspected New York might shop the pick after it ended up lower than anticipated:ESPN's Chad Ford doesn't feel the Big Apple should lose all hope:Basketball Insiders' Alex Kennedy noted how important the development was for the Los Angeles Lakers, who had the fourth-best odds to grab the top selection:Lakers legend Magic Johnson was most pleased to see his former squad lock up the second pick ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers:ESPN Stats & Info observed how a team in Minnesota's enviable situation isn't necessarily guaranteed a miraculous turnaround down the road:The consensus top prospects are Kentucky big man Karl-Anthony Towns and Duke center Jahlil Okafor. They're bound to be the two most prominent contenders for the top overall pick.Towns is a better defender and rim protector with a motor to go with his tremendous talent. Although Okafor leaves something to be desired defensively, there's no denying his polished post game, immense upside and NBA-ready body.ESPN's Skip Bayless weighed in on the Towns-Okafor debate:If the Timberwolves opt for a perimeter option, Ohio State combo guard D'Angelo Russell and supremely athletic floor general Emmanuel Mudiay are both viable choices. Mudiay played professionally in China rather than SMU this past season, but Russell is a more complete prospect and a far better shooter.Fans in the Twin Cities and even casual NBA watchers have to be excited for the young core Minnesota is assembling, including Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine and Ricky Rubio, in addition to this year's top selection.L.A. can either snag a franchise point guard to complement aging legend Kobe Bryant and usher in a new era of Lakers basketball, or it can take whoever's left among Towns and Okafor to create a fascinating frontcourt with Julius Randle.The top of the 2015 NBA draft promises to be exciting. One storied franchise in Los Angeles was the big winner, and now the hosting Knicks suddenly find themselves as the wild card.
Click here to read full news..
