The Los Angeles Lakers will be making one of their bigger decisions of the season, before it even starts. They have the 2nd overall pick in the NBA draft and no one really knows what they will do with it. Assuming Karl-Anthony Towns, the unanimous 1st overall pick, is selected by the Timberwolves, the Lakers have about 3-4 guys they can pick from and the selection would make sense. If they pick D’Angelo Russell they will probably have ‘leverage’ to attain a ‘big’ in free agency. If they select Jahlil Okafor, they want to attain a big through the draft. After them, the even more confusing, Philadelphia 76ers will make their 3rd overall selection. With their selection, they’ve made it clear they won’t go past Russell or Okafor. If they select Jahlil Okafor, the Boston Celtics are willing to make a big move to get the prospect.
According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN:
The Celtics are prepared to make a “Godfather”trade offer to the Philadelphia 76ers if Duke’s Jahlil Okafor should slip to the No. 3 spot tonight in the NBA Draft, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported on “SportsCenter” Thursday morning….
Windhorst said NBA executives that he’s talked to think Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge will make “a Godfather offer” – one that can’t be refused – to the Sixers for Okafor. Windhorst mentioned Celtics point guard Marcus Smart being included in the offer.
If the Celtics are pushing hard for Okafor, they are praying that the Lakers make the sensible pick and select D’Angelo Russell. Speculation says that the Lakers decision is hard to guess, so no one will find out until the 2nd pick in the NBA draft. It’s crazy how after the 1st overall pick, things could get crazy quick.
