After years of banking on aging stars battling on the court, the Los Angeles Lakers are finally on the verge of a new start. The ping pong balls finally bounced their way during the lottery, and the Lakers have the No. 2 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. With that slotting they wield an enormous amount of power heading into the NBA’s marquee offseason event.
While the Minnesota Timberwolves hold the top pick in this year’s draft, they are in the middle of a youth movement, and don’t have the cachet to attract big-time free agents. They need to take whomever they feel is the top player available, whereas a team like the Lakers has options.
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No matter how bad things have looked in the past, the Lakers have almost always found a way to remain competitive. The last two seasons have been terrible largely by design so the franchise could rebuild quickly with back-to-back quality drafts. Don’t expect that to last another season, as general manager Mitch Kupchak and company have two first-round picks and a ton of room under the salary cap. So what will Los Angeles do on draft night? What follows is a look into a few of the possibilities.
Select Jahlil Okafor
Most of the world expects the Timberwolves to snag Kentucky forward Karl-Anthony Towns with the No. 1 pick, and he is the top player on my draft board. That said, Duke center Jahlil Okafor would be a nice consolation prize for the Lakers at No. 2. Towns is certainly the more versatile player, but Okafor is the best offensive low-post player I have scouted in years.
Okafor is poised, polished and well-rounded in the post offensively. During his only season at Duke, he averaged 17.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. He also shot 66.4 percent from the field and was named the ACC Player of the Year as he led the Blue Devils to a national title.
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Though he has yet to develop into a quality defender, Okafor is only 19 and could eventually become better on that end of the floor. At 6-foot-11 and 275 pounds, Okafor is built like he should be a member of the brute squad, and is basically a tank down low. While he isn’t super explosive, he’s a decent athlete and has the tools to eventually develop into at least an average defender. One negative is that he’s a terrible free throw shooter (51 percent in his only collegiate season), though he can actually hit jumpers out to 15 feet.
Okafor possesses a high basketball IQ, can pass well for a big man and seems hungry to learn the game and improve. He’s a good kid without any baggage and would fully embrace the expectations that come with playing for the Lakers. He also believes that he will pair well with last season’s lottery pick Julius Randle, which is a huge plus for the team’s rebuilding effort. The two young studs could create the kind of low-post tandem that would dominate the Western Conference for years.
Trade the pick
The Lakers showed they could scout and draft well in 2014 as they waited patiently and took Julius Randle at No. 7, then acquired the draft rights to first-team All-Rookie stud Jordan Clarkson from Washington at No. 46. While Randle missed his rookie year thanks to a broken leg, he impressed during the Summer League and the preseason. Most observers expect him to be a difference-maker for Los Angeles. Kupchak may feel that he doesn’t want to take another young player and could look to move this year’s pick for a top veteran who could fit with the team’s ample cap space.
One potential target is Sacramento Kings big man DeMarcus Cousins. While the Kings swear that Cousins isn’t on the table, in today’s NBA anyone is available for the right price. The Lakers could probably package the No. 2 pick, the 27th pick (that they own thanks to a trade with the Houston Rockets) and either Clarkson or Randle for Cousins and at least tempt Sacramento into thinking about it. Cousins is certainly the kind of player a franchise can build around, but he also comes with a ton of baggage.
While Lakers fans always want to win immediately, trading picks and young players for a veteran (even if he is just 24) has gotten the franchise into trouble recently. Making a splash will always be en vogue in Hollywood, but Kupchak has been there and done that, and I’m not sure he’ll even consider that route. The option is certainly open to him, and veterans other than Cousins will likely be available, but that probably isn’t the wisest course for the franchise at this time. Still, it’s certainly within the realm of possibility.
Select D’Angelo Russell
Ohio State guard D’Angelo Russell is one of the hottest names in this year’s draft. The dead-eye shooter and playmaker raced up draft boards as his freshman year progressed, and he is now poised to be a top five pick. While the Lakers have holes all over their roster, adding Russell to a backcourt that already includes Clarkson and Kobe Bryant could wind up being a stroke of genius.
As the Golden State Warriors have shown this season, three-point shooting is as important as anything in the modern NBA. Russell hit 41.1 percent of his three-pointers during his one collegiate season and there is no reason to believe he won’t continue to improve. As a freshman he averaged 19.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists while playing in a very tough Big Ten. At 6-foot-5 and 193 pounds he has the frame to add strength, a must in order to absorb the pounding the NBA puts on primary ball-handlers. But he has an exceptionally well-rounded game and should be a fantastic pro for a long time.
Russell needs to get better finishing in the paint, but that is the only complaint I currently have about his game. His lefty shooting stroke will carry him, and the Lakers really couldn’t go wrong by taking him. By pairing him with Clarkson they would have two tall, athletic guards who can handle the ball, play defense and distribute with ease. It could set the franchise up to have a scintillating backcourt for the next decade.
Select Kristaps Porzingis
There is no bigger high-risk/high-reward player in this draft than 19-year-old Latvian forward Kristaps Porzingis. A stretch four with incredible skill, Porzingis could wind up being the top player in the 2015 class. In fact, one scout is convinced he’ll be the best of the bunch.
I have watched a ton of tape on Porzingis and agree that the kid is the real deal. He measures in at an athletic 7-feet and 220 pounds, and can knock down threes, protect the rim and run the floor like a deer. He has spent time playing in Spain’s top league and appears ready to make the jump to the NBA. Yes, there will be a learning curve, but if he pans out he could be another Dirk Nowitzki.
Porzingis had a very impressive workout in Las Vegas on Friday and his stock is rising dramatically. He’s almost certain to go in the top five, and if Kupchak is willing to roll the dice he could hit a long home run with the Latvian big man. It would be a gigantic risk since European bigs are always a crapshoot, but it might be the kind of gamble that the Lakers need.
Every option on the table for the Lakers has pros and cons, but they are once again in a great spot as a franchise. They already have some young talent on the roster, have the cap space to add impact veterans and the No. 2 pick should bring them a big piece, regardless of which direction they decide to go. The years of counting the Lakers as an afterthought are over. It’s time for the franchise to start heading back to the top.