The Wolves will select sixth in the June 25 draft, one pick down from where they were slotted and exactly where the annual game of chance's laws of probability said they would pick after the Los Angeles Clippers won the first overall pick and presumably the right to grab Oklahoma sophomore forward Blake Griffin.

The Wolves never have improved their draft position in 13 trips to the lottery. On Tuesday, Wolves rookie Kevin Love watched from a stage in a New Jersey television studio as the procedure went pick by pick just as it should have -- until the Wolves' logo appeared when the envelope containing the draft's sixth pick was opened.

That meant Memphis -- the team the Wolves beat in a tiebreaking draw at season's end for the fifth draft slot -- jumped into the top three.

The Grizzlies own the second pick and Oklahoma City won the third pick in a draft where Griffin, Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio and Connecticut center Hasheem Thabeet could be the top three players chosen. Sacramento had the league's worst record last season and a 25 percent chance of getting the first pick but fell to fourth. Washington, which had the league's second-worst record, dropped to fifth.

"No need to talk about it," Love posted on the social-networking Internet site Twitter shortly after the lottery results were revealed on an ESPN broadcast. "I apologize to all my Timberwolves fans out there ... I knew I should have eaten my Lucky Charms this morning."

The Wolves now possess picks Nos. 6, 18 and 28 in this summer's first round, a combination with all sort of possibilities for the man picked by owner Glen Taylor to replace Kevin McHale as the team's vice president of Basketball operations or general manager.

If they don't use those two extra first-round picks acquired from Miami and Boston to maneuver out of that sixth spot, they likely will choose from a collection of guards that includes Memphis freshman Tyreke Evans, USC freshman DeMar DeRozan, Italian pro league player Brandon Jennings, UCLA freshman Jrue Holiday, Davidson junior Stephen Curry and possibly Arizona State sophomore James Harden, who could be gone by the time the Wolves pick.

ESPN.com's mock draft posted shortly after the lottery results has the Wolves selecting DeRozan sixth, Ohio State freshman center B.J. Mullens 18th and St. Mary's point guard Patrick Mills 28th.

The Clippers, who had the lottery's third-most chances, now have won the draft's No. 1 pick three times in their history. The Wolves never have picked higher than third.

They took Christian Laettner there in 1992 and O.J. Mayo last year before trading him to Memphis in an eight-player deal that brought Love and veteran Mike Miller.

The last time the Wolves owned the draft's sixth pick, they took Brandon Roy in 2006 and then traded his rights to Portland in a deal that brought Randy Foye, the Villanova guard who was selected one pick later.

NBA DRAFT

June 25

FIRST ROUND

1. L.A. Clippers

2. Memphis

3. Oklahoma City

4. Sacramento

5. Washington

6. Timberwolves

7. Golden State

8. New York

9. Toronto

10. Milwaukee

11. New Jersey

12. Charlotte

13. Indiana

14. Phoenix

15. Detroit

16. Chicago

17. Philadelphia

18. Timberwolves#

19. Atlanta

20. Utah

21. New Orleans

22. Dallas

23. Sacramento

24. Portland

25. Oklahoma City

26. Chicago

27. Memphis

28. Timberwolves##

29. L.A. Lakers

30. Cleveland

# From Miami ##From Boston

WHO THEY MIGHT TAKE

The Wolves landed the sixth pick in the June 25 NBA draft at Tuesday night's lottery drawing in New Jersey. Here's a look at who they might take:

JAMES HARDEN, SG, Arizona State

Age: 19 Ht./ Wt.: 6-4, 215

Comment: A true scorer who's sneaky good, he tanked in the NCAA tournament. But his season and his odd body sort of mirrors Eric Gordon's, who had a pretty good NBA rookie season with the Clippers.

DEMAR DEROZAN, SG, USC

Age: 19 Ht./Wt.: 6-6, 200

Comment: He's maybe the draft's most athletic player and a prototypical NBA shooting guard with a big upside who struggled early in his freshman season but surged in the NCAA tournament, including two strong performances in first- and second-round games at the Metrodome.

BRANDON JENNINGS, PG, Italy

Age: 19 Ht./Wt.: 6-2, 165

Comment: Skinny, athletic point guard who skipped college and played professionally in Italy last year instead is the type of enigma who makes NBA scouts earn their money.

TYREKE EVANS, PG/SG, Memphis

Age: 19 Ht./Wt.: 6-5, 195

Comment: Tigers thrived when John Calipari made him a point guard, but this gifted talent projects as an NBA shooting guard. Could you put the ball in his hands and play Randy Foye off the ball at "point" guard, as Miami does with Dwyane Wade?

JRUE HOLIDAY, PG/SG, UCLA

Age: 18 Ht./Wt.: 6-3, 205

Comment: Great wingspan for a point guard who is projected to be a better NBA than college player, although he played for just one season. Will invite comparisons to Russell Westbrook, who came from nowhere last year to be the draft's No. 4 pick.