LA Lakers Should Want Karl-Anthony Towns over Jahlil Okafor in 2015 NBA Draft

The 2015 NBA draft is still a month away, and for Los Angeles Lakers fans, that time will largely be spent on one central debate—who’s the better fit, Karl-Anthony Towns of Kentucky or Jahlil Okafor of Duke?

With the No. 2 pick in hand, there isn’t likely to be an actual choice for the L.A. front office—the Minnesota Timberwolves get on the board first and will control the selecting of the two big men.

Some draft prognosticators have the 'Wolves choosing Towns first, including Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman, whose mock draft and big board are below:

That the Lakers are even in second position is a major cause for celebration for a team that suffered through a historically bad season at 21-61. Heading into the lottery on May 19, Los Angeles was just hoping to hang onto its top-five protected pick and not forfeit it to the Philadelphia 76ers as a result of the now-infamous Steve Nash trade.

But with Lakers coach Byron Scott sitting at the dais, the pingpong balls took a lucky bounce—L.A. not only kept its selection, but it actually moved up from fourth to second place. It was the only team to thus improve its position in the draft. 

Julie Jacobson/Associated Press

There will be those who insist that the choice isn’t limited to only two prospects—that Los Angeles could instead pick either of two point guards—Emmanuel Mudiay, who skipped college to play pro ball in China, or D’Angelo Russell from Ohio State, who emerged as a consensus top-five candidate during the NCAA's regular season.

But that conversation is nothing more than parlor talk. The Lakers are in desperate need of a quality starting center, and as it happens, the two best players in the draft fit that bill. Okafor is hot off an NCAA championship as the Blue Devils’ starting pivot, while Towns played both power forward and center for the Wildcats.

There’s not a huge size differential between the 6’11” big men, although Towns is the slimmer at 250 pounds compared to Okafor’s 270.

But despite similarities in size and age—both are 19 and coming off their freshman years in college—there are distinct differences in how they play the game. And that’s important for the Lakers—a team with an emphasis on defense, as well as a hybrid Princeton system under Scott that prioritizes back screens, off-ball movement and selfless play.

It should be noted that the selfless part doesn’t really pertain to the alpha dog mentality of Kobe Bryant, an NBA superstar who will be entering what could be his final season in the league.

That “could be” must be taken with a grain of salt, however. The Mamba recently used his Twitter account to express that he hasn't come to any final decision about retirement.

For however long Bryant is still around, the keys to the team will still be in his hands. Towns had a brief but tantalizing encounter with the Lakers' longtime leader back in the summer of 2012. The kid was just 16 and playing for the Dominican Republic team when he faced Team USA and Bryant in Las Vegas.

As Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports recounts, the budding prospect from St. John’s High School in New Jersey received a boost in confidence from Bryant:

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The biggest thing I took away from that game was a confidence level that I could play with these players, that I can play with the best of the best. Kobe talked to me. ... He told me to make sure I keep working hard and he talked about some other things. We had a good conversation.

"

And now, Towns could be L.A.-bound with a chance to receive a season-long tutorial from one of the game’s legends.

When it comes to stats, the one-and-done's prospects are solid but not spectacular at first glance—10.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. But those numbers came within the context of John Calipari’s platoon system, which had Towns playing only 21.1 minutes during the regular season. The per-40 line tells a different story, with 19.5 points, 12.7 boards and 4.3 shot rejections.

Plus, per Sports-Reference, Towns' 78.1 defensive rating led the NCAA. Okafor wasn’t even in the top 20. Towns was also fifth in the nation in player efficiency rating, with Okafor coming in eighth.

Towns	12.7 REB-PER 40	4.3 BLK-PER 40	11.5 BLK%	.813 FT%	19.5 PTS-PER 40
Okafor	11.3 REB-PER 40	1.9 BLK-PER 40	4.5 BLK%	.510 FT%	23.0 PTS-PER 40

And while it is his defense that gets the most attention, Towns’ work on the other end of the floor is also growing by leaps and bounds, starting with a proficiency on the block with baby hook shots over either shoulder. He also has great mobility in the open court and the ability to roll off screens—a true asset in Scott’s screen-heavy system.

As Bleacher Report’s Josh Martin writes, the combination of size, tools and growth potential makes the New Jersey native an ideal candidate to head out west:

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Of the two top prospects, Towns appears to be the better fit for the Lakers. He doesn't need the ball to affect the game offensively—a huge plus when playing with the domineering Kobe Bryant—and offers the sort of rim protection that L.A. will need up front next to fellow Kentucky product and 2014 lottery pick Julius Randle.

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That said, it’s not as if Okafor would only be a consolation prize—he’s probably the more NBA-ready player and would bring the complete low-post offensive package to a team that struggled to put points on the board this season. The Duke center has exceptionally polished footwork and deadly accuracy in the paint—his 66.4 percent shooting was second only to Belmont’s Evan Bradds in 2014-15.

Ultimately, it all comes back to the Timberwolves and who they decide to select. And, as Jerry Zgoda of the (Minneapolis) Star Tribune points out, the top-choosing team might be leaning toward Okafor over Towns:

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NBA executives and scouts also seem to deem him (Towns) the draft’s consensus No. 1 pick, which doesn’t necessarily mean the Wolves will select him first because Okafor is the tantalizing throwback: a primarily back-to-basket, offensive-minded center with fancy footwork and sweet moves not seen from a rookie in, well, maybe a couple of decades.

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The 'Wolves may prefer Okafor as rumored, but there is no guarantee of that. If the Lakers truly want to ensure nabbing Towns, they could offer to swap their No. 2 selection plus cash for Minnesota’s No. 1. That way, the T-Wolves get Okafor, cash consideration and a salary savings—there’s about a $500,000 difference between the two slots.

Of course, there will be plenty of other teams angling to strike a deal with Minnesota as well.

The debate over the two young giants will continue until draft day, and it will likely be part of a larger conversation long after that—these are players who each have the talent to become integral parts of an entire generation of NBA basketball.

But Towns would be the better fit in Los Angeles—a player who fits systematically and could also grow into a more modern and versatile floor-stretching presence.

It’s now up to the Lakers to figure out how to make this happen.