Was out on 6/6.
Guard Russell is realistic option for Lakers at No. 2
Selecting big man would almost be duplicate pick of Randle in '14
BY SCOTT HOWARD-COOPER
NBA.COMAway from the consensus, distanced from the assumptions, there is a logical case to be made for the Lakers to take Ohio State guard D'Angelo Russell with the second pick in the June 25 Draft and not simply inherit the big man the Timberwolves do not take at No. 1.
There is such a logical case, in fact, that front offices outside Los Angeles buy the premise without hesitation. Russell is considered that good -- "I would take him No. 1," said an executive with a team that isn't picking high enough to be impacted by the top five being shuffled -- and the Lakers have that unique of circumstances.
At the very least, Russell has been a realistic option for the Lakers all along, even if Kentucky center-power forward Karl-Anthony Towns and Duke center Jahlil Okafor have held the top two spots in the eyes of most teams almost all season. Now that the lottery order has been set since May 19, and with the draft getting closer, there is talk around the league that Russell at No. 2 is a legitimate possibility.
If the Timberwolves select Okafor, Towns is an easier choice for the Lakers because he has more range on his shot and will defend. But if Minnesota goes Towns, regarded by most scouts and executives as more versatile than Okafor and with a higher ceiling, Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak in the L.A. front office will be making a close call loaded with questions and implications.
Okafor, with advanced post moves for a freshman, projects as a dependable scoring threat from the post, the lower risk of the picks because he will deliver eight or 10 seasons of interior offense in the Al Jefferson mold. Okafor won't fit into an up-tempo style and teams question whether he will reach solid on defense, but throw him the ball and he will generate points. On his own, he isn't a conflict.
The presence of Julius Randle is.
Okafor at center, Randle at power forward and both isolation players is a potential logjam. Randle, who essentially missed all 2014-15 after fracturing his right leg in the season opener, has shown signs he can expand his offense to include a mid-range game. But if that doesn't happen, a Randle-Okafor big-man tandem makes the Lakers easy to defend. In some ways, Okafor would be a duplication pick.
After being named a consensus first-team All-American as a freshman at Ohio State, D'Angelo Russell is working hard to succeed at the next level.
The lure of Russell is that he would be a perimeter threat to go with Randle's inside presence, beyond the other obvious lure: Russell has the chance to be a dynamic offensive weapon, with the scoring range of a shooting guard and "elite" passing skills, in the view of one general manager, of a point guard. The package, plus the common thread as left-handers, has drawn comparisons to James Harden.
"Not as big, but that ease of the game that (Harden) has," the GM said. "The ability to pass. He makes the game look pretty easy."
The Lakers will be making a judgment on Randle from the 2014 Draft as well as the prospects from 2015, a consideration that may also include Emmanuel Mudiay as a distributing point guard with size and athleticism. There is no clear answer.
Have to think that Mudiay is not on their list anymore, unless he looked entirely different when he was not recorded.
