As you know by now, the Cleveland Cavaliers won the first overall pick in the NBA Draft lottery last night, meaning the Minnesota Timberwolves will pick second. This immediately prompted rumors that the T’Wolves are looking to deal their #2 overall draft choice.
Unfortunately for Minnesota fans, it also means general manager David Kahn is in charge of making the deal.
Kahn has been one of our favorite re-occurring targets over years. (Linking to all of our critical articles would take too long; but here’s one, and here’s another). And last night Kahn said he knew Minnesota was “dead” when it got down to the final three remaining in the top three spots: himself, Utah’s Kevin O’Connor and Cleveland’s Nick Gilbert.
h/t to Cosby Sweaters
UPDATE: Kahn says the next day he was joking
Kahn delivered this quote which landed him in hot water:
“This league has a habit, and I am just going to say habit, of producing some pretty incredible story lines. Last year it was Abe Pollin’s widow and this year it was a 14-year-old boy and the only thing we have in common is we have both been bar mitzvahed. We were done. I told Kevin: ‘We’re toast.’ This is not happening for us and I was right.”
Was he just having fun? Or was dead he serious? Is he throwing stones at Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert’s son- who was born with a nerve disorder that causes tumors to grow anywhere in the body at any time. Nick Gilbert, with all that he has had to endure, was brought to the lottery to be a good luck charm for the Cavaliers, and it obviously paid off.
His presence last night was a story Hollywood could only dream of. Is Kahn taking a potshot at a feel-good story, And drumming up a potential conspiracy?
Here’s video of Kahn’s statement
update: Kahn says he was joking
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports
You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook