The Minnesota Timberwolves didn't win the NBA Draft Lottery as they ended up with the second pick despite the league's worst record, but as pointed out earlier, this isn't exactly doomsday, either.
The last three No. 2 picks were Evan Turner of Ohio State (to the Philadelphia 76ers), UConn's Hasheem Thabeet (to the Memphis Grizzlies) and Kansas State's Michael Beasley (to the Miami Heat before the Wolves picked him up for basically nothing). Okay, maybe those three names -- along with president of basketball operations David Kahn making the decisions -- mean it is in fact doomsday.
Prior to those three players, however, Kevin Durant and LaMarcus Aldridge were selected with the second pick in the NBA Draft. Durant is probably one of the best scorers in the league (and getting better) while Aldridge has made huge strides since coming out of college and just barely missed being an NBA All-Star this season.
Feast or famine seems to be the current outlook if Wolves fans are looking at recent history, but what reason would Minnesotans have to be anything but optimistic?