It’s widely assumed that Karl-Anthony Towns and Jahlil Okafor are the top two prospects in the 2015 NBA Draft.
The Minnesota Timberwolves, who own the first overall pick, are said to be undecided on the selection though that is likely nothing more than posturing on their part. Most believe they’ll select Karl-Anthony Towns leaving Jahlil Okafor on the table for the Los Angeles Lakers.
But will they select him? Apparently so, at least according to SI.com who says the Lakers are ‘locked in’ on drafting Jahlil Okafor.
The Lakers are going through the motions with other draft prospects—D’Angelo Russell and Emmanuel Mudiay have been in for workouts—but multiple league sources say L.A. is locked in on Okafor. Despite being overtaken by Towns, scouts still see Okafor as a franchise center—one with an enormous upside.
You don’t get many opportunities to get a potential franchise player, even less of those come in the form of a big man. So while there are plenty of other talented basketball player who’d likely be solid picks for the LA Lakers, it’s very difficult to imagine them passing on a player who can anchor the middle for the next decade plus.
Barring a trade, it seems very likely that Kobe Bryant will have a new big man to play alongside and the Lakers will draft Jahlil Okafor.
