The Mayor and His Teddy Bear

NBA DRAFT LOTTERY PREVIEW

I can only recall one period of time after my age reached double digits where a stuffed bear meant anything to me.  In the fall of 1991, at the age of 11, I asked for a  Kirby Bear when the Twins won the Western Division Pennant and I proudly displayed it on the desk in my room throughout and after the ALCS and the World Series.  I thought I would be done putting stock in a teddy bear, but apparently not.  Tonight, at 6:30 pm, I’m hoping our non-elected Mayor and his teddy bear can drop a little fortune on a franchise devoid of luck.

I have been following this team since its inception in 1989, and I can only remember two instances where I felt luck was on our side.  The first was in 1994.  Does anyone remember, back when the Wolves wore the beautiful old royal blue and green, that this team was sold to a group that planned on moving them to New Orleans?  Well, the first instance of fortune in this franchise’s history was that the NBA Owners shot down the sale and the currently much maligned Glen Taylor "saved" the team.  The second was a more gradual process.  In 1995, the Wolves used their (again, lottery losing) fifth pick to select Kevin Garnett, a kid most people knew only as the high schooler on the cover of Sports Illustrated.  Like most NBA lottery prospects, Kevin had a lot of skills and a high ceiling above him.  The Wolves lucked out in that KG worked hard, did everything in his power to reach his ceiling, and made a city care about a team (at least for a while) that no one cared about at all.  So, in almost 20 years of existence, the team has had luck on its side twice.

I also remember the draft lottery day in 1992.  I was 12 and eagerly anticipating the end of 6th grade.  I had either the Strib or Press sports page (I don’t recall which, it was 16 years ago…) and on the cover was Shaq and Alonzo Mourning.  We had the most chances, we ended up third and drafted Christian Laettner.  Like then, this is touted thus far as a two person draft.  One of the greatest statistical players in college history with all of the physical and skill tools to make an NBA player, and a point guard unfairly compared to a combination of Chris Paul and Deron Williams are the prizes.  So, can a Teddy Bear bring the requisite luck?  Is it enough luck?  Do we need a 4-leaf clover?  Maybe we can borrow a horseshoe from Big Brown.

The Wolves percentage chance for picks:

1st – 13.8%

2nd – 14.24%

3rd – 14.54%

4th – 23.82%

5th – 29.05%

6th – 4.55%

Please check out the podcasts and the posts/forums throughout the day and this evening for TWolvesBlog reactions to the NBA draft.