Leave it to former sports journalist David Kahn to accuse the NBA draft lottery of being rigged.
The Minnesota Timberwolves president implied just that after the Cleveland Cavaliers won the top overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.
The Cavaliers had the feel good story of the evening as Dan Gilbert’s 14-year-old son, Nick, represented the organization. He suffers from Neurofibromatosis (NF), a nerve disorder that causes tumors to grow anywhere in the body at any time.
In the eyes of Kahn, Nick’s touching story helped the Cavs land the No. 1 pick:
“This league has a habit, and I am just going to say habit, of producing some pretty incredible story lines,” Kahn said. “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.”
Clearly, you need to come up with a better angle for next year’s lottery, David.
In the meantime, there’s another David waiting for you on hold – – and have your checkbook ready.