Lakers Rumors: Buzz on Jahlil Okafor and Emmanuel Mudiay
If Los Angeles Lakers fans were hoping the calendar turning from January to February would bring some sort of relief in this trying campaign, they were sorely mistaken.
The Lakers went 3-12 in January, kicked off February with a dreadful 80-92 loss to the New York Knicks and have yet to win in the year's shortest month. These are indeed dark times in the Lakers' normally bright, 72-and-sunny Southern California existence.
So perhaps it's no wonder the latest buzz surrounding this woeful franchise concerns the far-off 2015 NBA draft, a source of hope for Lakers fans desperate for signs of a brighter future.
At this point, Los Angeles looks likely to keep its first-round pick (if the team finishes out of the bottom five, the pick goes to Phoenix as a result of the Steve Nash trade).
The Lakers fall into the category of teams whose overall draft edict might very well be "don't think, just take the best player available." Then again, the Lakers have some issues that are bigger than others, so it might not be all that surprising whom the team apparently has at the top of its draft board.
ESPN Insider's Chad Ford noted that Duke freshman sensation Jahlil Okafor and 18-year-old point guard phenom Emmanuel Mudiay are reportedly one and two on the Lakers' draft board:
"If they finish with the worst record in the league, Okafor is a slam dunk for them. Their best and only big man is Jordan Hill, and he's a far cry from Okafor. For a team that has a long legacy of elite big men -- from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Shaquille O'Neal to Andrew Bynum (OK, not so much Bynum) -- the Lakers would love to have a young front line of Okafor and Julius Randle. Okafor's closest competition I'm told is Mudiay, but it's not that close right now.
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It's not hard to see why the 6'11", 270-pound Okafor appears to be the consensus top choice at this early stage of draft speculation. The 19-year-old is averaging 18.0 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, inhabits an Association-ready frame and is nothing if not consistent on offense, per ESPN College Basketball:
"Jahlil Okafor's 13 points vs. FSU extended his double-digit scoring streak to 24 straight. pic.twitter.com/BPkqXBTHRv
— ESPN College BBall (@ESPNCBB) February 10, 2015"
He also boasts the second-best player efficiency rating (33.08) in Division I college basketball, per ESPN.com, trailing only Wisconsin's Frank Kaminsky. As a potential traditional center, he would be a dream pickup for the Lakers, a franchise wholly concerned with promoting its own legacy and winning culture.
Ford is right to reference the Lakers' long-standing tradition of fielding dominant big men—he could have just as easily invoked the names of legends Wilt Chamberlain and George Mikan. The Lakers' latest attempt at continuing the lineage of big men with Dwight Howard, of course, didn't fare so well.
Okafor would be different from many of those illustrious names in that he would give Los Angeles an opportunity to develop a big in house. The likes of O'Neal, Chamberlain, Abdul-Jabbar and Howard started their NBA careers in different-colored laundry.
Truth be told, if Okafor is ever to come through L.A., it will likely be after a stint with another team. As bad as the Lakers may be, it's more likely one of New York, Philadelphia or Minnesota—all of whom have Okafor at the top of their respective big boards, per Ford—grabs the No. 1.
But hey, that's what the lottery is there for: to keep the dream alive.
Mudiay, on the other hand, would appear to be a more attainable pick for the Lakers than Okafor. In terms of team fit, point guard is perhaps a bigger area of concern than frontcourt for the Lakers considering the struggles of the ineffectual Jeremy Lin and the lack of depth at the position.
| October | 3 | 3 | 10.0 | .435 | 5.3 | 2.7 | 10 |
| November | 14 | 14 | 13.1 | .481 | 5.0 | 2.8 | 37 |
| December | 15 | 3 | 7.7 | .357 | 4.3 | 2.7 | 26 |
| January | 14 | 3 | 11.0 | .441 | 4.4 | 1.9 | 35 |
| February | 5 | 0 | 9.4 | .459 | 4.6 | 2.4 | 15 |
The 6'5" point guard decided against attending a stateside university after high school, instead opting for the Brandon Jennings-tested route by playing professionally overseas for NBA finishing school—albeit in China, not Europe, as Jennings had done.
This decision makes him a bit of a mystery to some folks, but it's clear from highlight reels he has eye-catching athleticism.
Unfortunately, an ankle injury limited Mudiay's playing stint with the Guangdong Southern Tigers to just 10 games. This would seemingly make him a slight risk and an even greater unknown, but that hasn't stopped some draft analysts from moving him up their big board.
CBSSports.com's Sam Vecenie even went so far as to move Mudiay and Ohio State combo guard D'Angelo Russell up to Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, on his latest big board, while offering up his take on the 18-year-old prospect:
"To me, Mudiay just has a bit more upside than Russell does. He's a superior athlete, and already has the type of feel in the pick-and-roll that you hope for out of NBA veterans. Also, he has an easier time getting all the way to the rim and finishing because of his stronger frame. I'd give Russell a definite edge in shooting skill and a slight edge in passing ability, but Mudiay's vision and ability to see over a defense as a point guard is also superb and right on that same level. Mudiay's athleticism edge also gives him a better defensive profile than Russell.
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With the Lakers having no long-term solution at point guard in sight, Mudiay makes sense over players like Russell—who sees time at shooting guard with the Buckeyes—and Kentucky's Karl-Anthony Towns, a slick 6'11" forward who might not fit as well as Okafor would with Julius Randle in a prospective young frontcourt.
Lakers fans will be checking the standings from here on out trying to get a handle on the team's draft prospects. Even if they don't end up with a shot at drafting Okafor, Russell or Mudiay could still make sense over a player like Towns, as the purple and gold not even have to worry too much about the state of its frontcourt come draft day.
There is always the possibility, however slim, that they land a top free agent big like Kevin Love or Marc Gasol. Forwards Ryan Kelly and Tarik Black are under contract for next season, as is center Robert Sacre. Randle is on his way to recovery and will hopefully benefit from a year studying the game.
Of course, the offseason probably won't be without frontcourt turbulence in Los Angeles.
Jordan Hill is currently injured, and although he's played well enough that the Lakers might be inclined to exercise their $9 million team option on him, trading him for spare parts and/or draft picks might not be such a bad idea, as the team will still be trying to clear cap space for megabucks free agents. If that isn't enough, his numbers are down from last year.
| 2013-14 | 16.7 | .549 | .685 | 12.8 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 19.3 |
| 2014-15 | 15.8 | .476 | .760 | 10.3 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 16.7 |
Ed Davis appears likely to cash in on his own surprisingly solid season, but considering his defensive output and age (25), the Lakers may be inclined to rein him in for a rebuild.
Davis has mentioned coming back to the Lakers even though he reportedly plans to opt out of his $1.1 million player option for next season, per Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
“I’m hoping for a long-term deal,” said Davis in late January, per Medina. “I’d love to return here. I know this will turn around eventually.”
The Lakers could also settle the point guard position through free agency by going after the likes of Goran Dragic or Rajon Rondo, but they at least have in-house options when it comes to building a viable frontcourt.
Lin, Ronnie Price and Jordan Clarkson— a tantalizing player, but one who still needs time to develop—won't cut it for Kobe Bryant's presumed final hurrah next year. A player like Mudiay might not cut it either, but he would have a future.
Of course, the Okafor and Mudiay talk is all a pipe dream if the Lakers fall out of the bottom five (or rise above, depending on how you view the league's race to the bottom). However, in the midst of this frustrating season, Lakers fans must take dreams in whatever form they come and hope one of them becomes reality this summer.
Contract information courtesy of Spotrac.
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