Wolves, President Gersson Rosas approached draft lottery correctly

The complaint department was flooded with calls last week after the Timberwolves learned that they would have to relinquish their first-round pick to Golden State after failing to land in the top three spots in the NBA draft lottery.

Wolves gonna be Wolves, some of you lamented.

Why didn't the Wolves tank, you wondered.

Way to screw up a chance at Jalen Suggs, you charged.

I'm not sure how their intentions didn't sink in during the final weeks of the season, when the Wolves made it clear they wanted to win as many games as possible. D'Angelo Russell was finally healthy and was able to play with Karl-Anthony Towns for an extended run. Wolves major-domo Gersson Rosas wanted to see how the roster he rebuilt looked with key players available.

Other than Malik Beasley, they were healthy down the stretch. They went 7-5 over their final 12 games and passed teams like Detroit and Orlando that were in free fall after making white flag trades at the deadline. The Wolves finished with the seventh pick and had to send it to the Warriors to complete the Andrew Wiggins trade. Since they also dealt their second-round pick, the Wolves will sit this draft out unless they trade — Beasley, perhaps — for a pick.

Before plotting a course for the offseason, Rosas evaluated what he had. He used the final part of the season to see how new coach Chris Finch worked with the group. It would have been unfair to Finch to hand him his first head coaching job with orders to tank.

Their winning didn't bother me. Rosas was able to see Russell and Towns work together, with Russell showing better playmaking ability. He watched Anthony Edwards make a run at the Rookie of the Year award and Jaden McDaniels show off his two-way potential. Even Naz Reid showed he could be a capable reserve. There are some pieces to move forward with.

Here are more reasons for not being outraged at the Wolves' unwillingness to tank: Donyell Marshall, Rasho Nesterovic, William Avery, Ndudi Ebi, Corey Brewer, Jonny Flynn, Wes Johnson, Derrick Williams, Kris Dunn and Jarrett Culver — all high draft picks the Wolves have bungled through the years. That 7-5 finish might have saved the Wolves from themselves.

The Wolves already did the heavy lifting by getting the frustrating Wiggins off the roster, with the draft pick compensation a necessary component. Teams also improve through trades and free agency, and Rosas will have more time to work on his roster using those options with draft prep now off his priority list.

Rosas has a smartphone and the Wolves are about $2 million under the salary cap. If he ends up with a quality power forward to pair with Towns, then trading their picks and not tanking will be worth it.

Caden Clark last week signed a deal to play for RB Leipzig of the German Bundesliga after he completes the remainder of the current MLS season with Red Bull New York. The midfielder leads RBNY with four goals.

Why didn't the Loons hold on to this kid?

Clark was born in Medina and started with a youth club of the old Minnesota Thunder in 2015. His MLS rights were held by the Loons until last year, when he was sent to RBNY for $75,000 in general allocation money. Less than a year later, he has a chance to play in the Bundesliga, where such Americans as Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams and Gio Reyna have blossomed recently. Clark is just 18 years old. This is a huge move and a chance for him to play in one of the top leagues in the world.

We're one week into pitchers getting checked by umpires for illegal substances and, predictably, it's been a mess. But it's a mess the pitchers created.

Their pursuit of better spin rates led to them stepping outside the lines to get a better grip on the ball. That led to a dip in offense, and it was bad enough that players such as Josh Donaldson complained. The league had no choice but to intervene.

We watched J.A. Happ get checked three times during his outing on Monday. We also saw the Nationals' Max Scherzer throw his glove and hat to the ground in frustration when checked for a third time. And we saw Sergio Romo pull down his pants while he was checked. Guess what? This is what happens when there's a proliferation of cheating. MLB is going to fight back until the perpetrators change their ways.

The Twins, starting Monday, will face the White Sox seven times over the next two weeks. Prediction No. 1 this week: Given the state of their pitching staff, particularly injuries to the starting rotation, the Twins will take only two of those seven games from the eventual AL Central champs.

After pounding my chest over picking the Canadiens to defeat Las Vegas and reach the Stanley Cup Final, I suspect Montreal's run will end there. Don't underestimate the heart of a champion. Tampa Bay will keep the Cup in Florida.

The 3-2 Pitch: Three observations and two predictions every Sunday.