Top 5 2015 Draft Picks Lakers Should Go After
If the Los Angeles Lakers finish with a fourth-worst record in the NBA, they'll have a 11.9 percent of winning the No. 1 overall-pick of the draft. Although its unlikely they'll get No. 1, there will be plenty of players to fill the Lakers' weakest positions. The Lakers haven't had a solid center since Andrew Bynum helped the Lakers win the 2010 NBA Finals. General Manager Mitch Kupchak will look for a true center, hoping they can get a point guard off free agency. Jordan Hill and Robert Sacre are not even close to the level of the top two centers that'll be available in the draft. Defense has been poor for the Lakers. They have no big-man presence, leaving teams to penetrate deep into the paint. In order the Lakers to get Jahlil Okafor or Karl-Anthony Towns, they need to hope they get third or better in the lottery. If both are gone, they might pick guards D'Angelo Russell or Emmanuel Mudiay and hope they get a big man with their second first-round pick or in free agency. Here are CBSLA's top 5 players the Lakers should go after in the 2015 NBA draft:
1. Jahlil Okafor: After Andrew Bynum left Los Angeles, the Lakers have been very weak at the center spot. If the Lakers get lucky and get the top pick of the NBA draft, they need to grab Okafor. Okafor, 19, is projected to be the year's top pick across the board. He is big and powerful with huge hands. His post-up game is the best available in the draft. With his understanding of the game, the Lakers could see an enormous improvement in the center and power forward position with the return of Julius Randle next season. At Duke, Okafor is nearly averaging a double-double per game (18.4 PPG and 9.4 RPG).
2. Karl-Anthony Towns: If the Lakers don't get the top pick in the draft, they'll likely miss out on Okafor. Knowing the Philadelphia '76ers and Minnesota Timberwolves, who have worse records than Lakers, are in need of a point guard, they'll likely go after Russell or Mudiay, meaning the Lakers will happily draft Towns. Although Towns isn't as powerful or as big as Okafor, the 7-foot Towns is a skilled player with great finesse and balance. He can use both hands and has a high-percentage mid-range shot. "He doesn't have the physical maturation yet," University of Kentucky head coach John Calipari said. "Within two or three years, when he gets that weight in his butt, in his thighs that he's going to have, now it becomes another one of those kids you look at and you say, 'Oh, my gosh. I didn't realize he was going to be like this.' " These two big men (Okafor and Towns) are already better than any of the big men on the Lakers.
3. D'Angelo Russell: If the Lakers are out of luck on picking the top two big men in the draft, Kupchak might grab freshman point guard Russell out of Ohio State. Yes, the Lakers may pass on a point guard in the draft, knowing they might pick up someone in the free agency. However, if he's available, the Lakers will take a crack at him. Who knows, they might use him for trade bait. The 6-foot-5 guard has the best handles in the draft and gets better when the pressure hits. It is rumored New York Knicks President Phil Jackson has been eyeing him for over a year.
4. Emmanuel Mudiay: Given Okafor, Towns and Russell are gone, the Lakers will not hesitate to grab Mudiay of the Republic of Congo. Unlike the other players listed on this list, Mudiay played overseas after playing high school ball in Texas. His top attributes are his speed and athleticism. He has a pass first, shoot second mentality. He plays in the Chinese professional league with Guangdong. The 6-foot-5 guard is averaging 17.7 points and nearly 6 assists per game with Guangdong.
5. Willie Cauley-Stein: If all else fails and the Lakers get the fifth pick of the draft, all the above might be gone, leaving the Lakers no choice but to pick the next big man available in Cauley-Stein. It'll be a tough decision for Kupchak. He will be a project if they decide to select him. It's hard to come across skilled 7-footers. The junior out of Kentucky is more reliable on the defensive side than on offense. Cauley-Stein is averaging 9.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game with Kentucky.