The Los Angeles Lakers are in a nice position for the rebuilding of the future of their franchise. With the No. 2 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, they have the luxury of selecting either Karl-Anthony Towns or Jahlil Okafor.
Many mock drafts pin Towns going to the Minnesota Timberwolves at No. 1, which leaves the Lakers taking Okafor. Not so fast, though.
Ohio State guard D'Angelo Russell has creeped into the discussion, and many are starting to lean towards the notion of Los Angeles possibly drafting him at No. 2.
Some team executives believe there is a logical case to be made for the Lakers to select him, per Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com:
Away 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.
It makes sense if the Lakers would lean towards Russell than Okafor. As many have pointed out, Okafor would probably end up becoming just a taller version of Julius Randle. Why not take a guy like Russell instead?
Emmanuel Mudiay is also a candidate that could come into the discussion. I think when it's all said and done, it will probably be Okafor, Russell and Mudiay as the players Los Angeles would choose between.
Out of all them, Okafor is obviously the safest of the choices. However, there is a ton of risk and reward if they end up selecting one of the other two.
We'll just have to see at the end of the month.
