According to NBA prospect Jahlil Okafor, big men will run the NBA in the coming years. The potential top pick told the Los Angeles Daily News that having an elite big man on the roster will determine the success of any NBA team. With the No.2 pick in the NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Lakers could take Okafor up on his word and draft him to be the franchise center. However, the Lakers need a point guard almost just as badly which is putting the team in a tough spot heading into the draft.
According to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, the Lakers are torn as to what position they will draft with the pick. Either Okafor or Karl-Anthony Towns will be available along with both top point guards in D'Angelo Russell and Emmanuel Mudiay. The Lakers are working out all four players while both Mudiay and Russell have been taken out to dinner with the Lakers' staff. Whatever position the team addresses in the draft, they will make the other a priority in free agency. General manager Mitch Kupchak stresses he will have the final say as the team sorts out their options.
"We have a lot of photos in this building, and there are lot of jerseys over there of big men that we retired that we had great success with," Kupchak said, via the Los Angeles Times. "It makes sense to build around a big. But you don't want to take a big because it's a big, and then pass on the No. 3 pick that turned out to be Michael Jordan."
In the interview, Kuchak sounded doubtful that he could get a big man with the later picks the Lakers own. The general manager stated that big men are normally slower to develop in the NBA. While he reference that DeAndre Jordan was a late pick, Kupchak also said that talent does not hang around that often. If the Lakers are drafting a big man, they will select Okafor or Towns at No.2.
Could the Lakers go for a point guard and address the big man status in free agency? Los Angeles has the salary cap space to sign players like Greg Monroe, Marc Gasol, Brook Lopez or LaMarcus Aldridge. The Lakers have Jordan Clarkson returning to the team which could help make the decision. As a rookie, Clarkson proved capable as a starter. He could make a big man a priority in the draft while the Lakers target a second-tier point guard to pair with him. Kupchak has available options.