Duke freshman Jahlil Okafor is seen by many as not only the most polished big man in college basketball, but possibly the top player should he enter the 2015 NBA Draft. (Gerry Broome/The Associated Press)
Below is the first part of a occasional series with NBA analysts providing their take on the Lakers’ needs heading into the 2015 NBA Draft on June 25. Below is a recent interview with NBA TV/TNT analyst Grant Hill.
If the Lakers land the number one pick in the draft lottery [on May 19], who should they pick?
Hill: “Obviously the Lakers are kind of preparing for the future. But they still want to remain competitive with Kobe [Bryant] in the equation. You have a very good young piece in Julius Randle already there. I’m assuming he will be healthy and able to return at a high level. So I like going with one of the bigs, either Karl Anthony-Towns [from Kentucky] or Jahlil Okafor [from Duke]. They’re young and can really be a cornerstone for the future of that franchise. They’re as good as post players as we’ve seen come through the draft in quite some time. I’m okay with that. I hate answering that question, not that I’m trying to avoid it. But it’s a hard question to answer when you get the No. 1 pick. But I think the general consensus is if you have the No. 1 pick, you pick one of those two guys. That’s what I would probably do.”
How would you compare Okafor and Anthony-Towns
Hill: “They have some similarities, but there are some differences in some areas. Okafor is as a polished big guy for his age as we’ve seen in quite some time. He can come in offensively. He is so skilled. He has such a great touch and feel around the basket. He can come in offensively and put up some very good numbers right away. I think Towns has a little bit more versatility defensively. He can be a good rim protector. I don’t know if he is as polished offensively as Okafor. But he can do so many things on the court. There’s some similarities in some respect and some differences with what they do. I think both players will be great players.”
Who would you choose between the two?
Hill: “It’s hard. I like Okafor and I’ve seen more of him. I’ve watched and gotten to know him more and I like what I see. But I really don’t know Towns that well. I only saw him play live in person one time. That wasn’t one of his better games and his team didn’t play well. They lost to Wisconsin on Final Four Saturday. So it’s unfair for me to pick one. I like them both. But at this point, I would probably give the nod to Okafor. I’m more familiar with him and spent considerable amount of time with him and watched him both in practice and in games and in person live. I’m more familiar with what he does.”
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