Who the Los Angeles Lakers Should Target in the 2015 NBA Draft
The Los Angeles Lakers don’t know yet where they’ll be picking in the 2015 NBA Draft. But with multiple selections in the offing, the front office is sure to be setting its sights on some prime preliminary targets.
The team is locked into fourth position for the annual tumbling of the Ping Pong balls on May 19. But that doesn’t guarantee an actual lottery pick.
The Lakers still need a little luck.
Because the pick is top-five protected, L.A. will forfeit it to the Philadelphia 76ers if it falls below that level.
But even if the Lakers do get bounced from the lottery, they’ll still have a couple of nice consolation prizes—a late first-round pick courtesy of the Jeremy Lin trade (via Houston) and an early second-round selection.
At the top of the order, elite prospects include Kentucky’s Karl-Anthony Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein, Duke’s Jahlil Okafor and Justise Winslow, and Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russell.
Also in this top grouping is point guard Emmanuel Mudiay, who elected to play in China, rather than college, but suffered an ankle injury that limited him to 12 games overseas.
The exact order is fluid at the moment, with the NBA Draft Combine set to take place in mid-May. For now, however, Towns and Okafor are running one and two on most mock draft boards, including Jonathan Wasserman’s for Bleacher Report.
Cauley-Stein, meanwhile, is a bit of a wild card, ranked at No. 4 by Zach Harper of CBS Sports and No. 7 by Wasserman.
Of course, the Lakers would love to get a crack at the very top, as unlikely as that possibility may seem. Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times very recently wrote: “At fourth, the Lakers have 11.9% odds of winning the top overall pick, 12.6% for second, 13.3% for third, 9.9% for fourth and 35.1% for fifth.”
Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak knows how all-important the top two picks are, as he said in February per Lakers.com:
"You argue for college fans that there may be two guys that everybody feels comfortable at one and two. So if you’re one or two, then you pretty much know what you might do in the offseason. But if you’re not one or two, really you have to wait until you find out where you’re drafting. And then you can kind of shape the offseason.
"
Towns would be the ultimate get for Los Angeles.
At 7’0” and 250 pounds, the 19-year-old is a defensive beast in the paint with 4.3 blocks per-40 minutes in his one-and-done Kentucky season. Towns can also score in a variety of ways, from a classic back-to-the-basket style to a still-improving touch on the ball from midrange. And as a very welcome bonus, the center has a sweet stroke from the charity stripe, converting 81 percent of his attempts.
Naturally, the Lakers would also grab Okafor in a heartbeat as a second choice. The Duke center and new NCAA champion has a polished offensive post game and is also extremely effective in transition. But he does not have nearly the defensive presence that Towns possesses. For instance, Okafor had 1.4 blocks in 30 minutes per game this season while Townes had 2.3 blocks in only 21 minutes per game.
If the Lakers pick in the third or fourth slot, they would do well to select Winslow—an extremely fluid two-way small forward. As an essential part of Duke’s championship starting lineup, the 19-year-old’s chase-down energy and multi-positional defensive tenacity would fit in nicely alongside the commitment and desire of purple and gold future stars Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle.
Kevin O’Connor for SB Nation actually ranked Winslow ahead of Okafor at No. 2, writing: “Winslow will be able to defend three positions, which gives him immense value in the switch-heavy NBA… He has flashed smooth footwork in tight spaces and is a terrific passer for his position, especially in the screen game.”
But who should the Lakers target if they wind up in the most realistic spot at fifth?
If D’Angelo Russell is still available, L.A. has to nab him. The prototypical modern point guard out of Ohio State has superior length at 6’5”, great handles and enough offensive versatility to play both backcourt positions, leaving the ability for the Lakers to remain flexible with Clarkson.
“The 19-year-old has an effortless shot release,” wrote O’Connor recently, “and he's capable of completing passes that'll make you question the laws of physics.”
And then there’s the idea of drafting someone who’s a true rim-protector. A case in point is Cauley-Stein—a 7' human pogo stick who swats away all flying objects that encroach on his air-space. The elite defender also has great body control, lateral quickness and an improving ability to score the ball as well.
Posing the notion that the 21-year-old should be the Lakers’ defensive anchor, Dakota Schmidt of Silver Screen and Roll adds: “Cauley-Stein's athleticism and high defensive IQ is something rarely seen from a draft prospect.”
Of course it’s not all about the top-five, especially if the Lakers get a bad bounce on May 19 and forfeit their pick. Their late first-round selection is currently projected around No. 27 and they could also use a trade piece to try and move up several slots.
Interesting targets would include the following:
Kris Dunn, a 6’3” point guard from Providence would probably have been a lottery pick if not for shoulder injuries that caused him to miss the first part of his freshman season and almost all of his sophomore year. But the quick-handed 21-year-old had a terrific junior season, averaging 15.6 points, 7.5 assists and 5.5 rebounds.
Jerian Grant stayed at Notre Dame through his senior year and averaged 14.5 points, 5.8 assists and 1.5 steals during his collegiate career. The 22-year-old has great length at 6’5” and is a mature and well-developed point guard who sees the court and passing angles quite well.
At 6’9”, Sam Dekker of Wisconsin is the kind of fundamentally skilled combo forward that would provide a consistent effort for Los Angeles. The 20-year-old is projected just outside the lottery and could also slip in a talented field.
Chad Ford of ESPN projects Dekker as a valuable role player for Los Angeles: “He is athletic, can defend multiple positions, is a solid shooter and rarely makes mistakes. Most importantly, he is tough and a winner — something the Lakers could definitely use more of.”
"Sam Dekker to Los Angeles Lakers.
— Dexter Fishmore (@dexterfishmore) March 29, 2015"
With multiple picks the Lakers will be casting a wide net as they bring players in for workouts before the draft.
But a dream scenario would result in a dominant starting center, a quality two-way small forward and a point guard to develop alongside Clarkson.
And for those pining for a power forward or a lights-out perimeter shooter—that’s okay too.
The Lakers have a lot of holes to fill, and with some luck, will be able to shape the free-agency search that follows through the events on June 25.
College stats courtesy of Sports-Reference.com.
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