If the Minnesota Timberwolves are to reverse their fortunes from a year ago, they'll have to do it on their own.
For the 15th time in as many NBA Draft Lottery appearances, the Timberwolves saw a chance at moving up in the order pass them by. They'll pick ninth overall on Thursday, June, 27 -- the same spot their 31-51 record had them slotted before Tuesday's lottery in New York.
Their odds of selecting any higher were minute to begin with.
Minnesota, which remained in place for the seventh time, had a 6.11-percent chance to land a top-three pick and only a 1.7-percent chance at No. 1. That spot went to the Cleveland Cavaliers for the second time in three years, followed by Orlando and Washington.
"I feel better with No. 9 than I would've about No. 10," said team president of basketball operations Flip Saunders, who was in New York with team representative and power forward Kevin Love. "As I told Kevin, I was happy we didn't move down, and we didn't move up."
Things could've been worse for the Timberwolves, who had an outside chance to fall as far as the 12th pick. They've dropped at least one spot on eight separate occasions since the Draft Lottery's inception.
In order to try and avoid that scenario again, Love carried a Ricky Rubio action figure on his person during the proceedings at Disney/ABC's Time Square Studios. The good-luck charm didn't help achieve the highly improbable but did ensure Minnesota stayed in the same draft spot as the No. 9 on Rubio's jersey.
Saunders was asked afterward why no No. 1 Alexey Shved figurine made an appearance.
"(Love's) the one that made that decision," Saunders said, laughing. "We went in as No. 9 and figured Ricky's number would point us in the right direction."
Squashed are the pipe dreams of drafting popular top pick Nerlens Noel out of Kentucky or electric Kansas guard Ben McLemore to fill the Timberwolves' outside shooting needs. Lehigh's C.J. McCollum and Georgia's Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, both projected as off-guards at the professional level, headline a list of more viable options with the ninth pick.
The Timberwolves also have the 26th pick, originally the Memphis Grizzlies' but acquired from Houston on June 24, 2011. Minnesota possesses two second-round picks, too: the 52nd and 59th overall.
While outside shooting will be a key point of emphasis, Saunders said the Timberwolves are also in the market for a big man to help fill the paint.
"When you win 31 games, you put pretty much everything on the table," Saunders said. "You have to look around and see what comes available."
