Los Angeles Lakers have brought in a bevy of players to have a pre-draft workout over the last 2 weeks. Most notably, Jahlil Okafor, D’Angelo Russell, Cameron Payne and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson have worked out with the team but there is one player that hasn’t worked out with the Lakers and has actually denied any attempts by the team wanting to bring him in.
Karl-Anthony Towns, the stud out of Kentucky, has denied the Lakers attempts to bring him in for a private workout. It was reported that Towns would not workout for any team, so the Lakers shouldn’t feel too bad. It also might suggest that Towns and his camp might not believe LA is the destination for him, so why even waste anyone’s time?
Following from Mark G. Medina of the LA Daily News.
Lakers have been unsuccessful getting Anthony-Towns in for a workout. But Mitch said he will keep trying
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) June 9, 2015
With the Lakers holding the second and 27th overall picks, it allow them to invite players on both ends of the spectrum, the top picks and the guys who are fringe players trying to get into the first round. They have the whole world in their hands with the second pick and Towns denying invites from Kupchak to come workout could mean the writing is on the wall for the NBA Draft order.
It looks like all signs are pointing towards the Timberwolves selecting Towns with the first overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft which leaves Okafor to the Lakers, which wouldn’t be horrible for LA. Towns has said in the past that he’ll only interview with the Lakers and Timberwolves, despite the fact that he could realistically drop to the New York Knicks at four. There should be a handful of teams that he could want to talk with, yet despite that, he wants to have interviews with only those two teams.
Credit Towns and his camp for staying true to their initial stand of not working out for any team. His stance to not workout for anyone was further solidified when another potential prospect in Cliff Alexander went down with an injury of his own during a pre-draft workout, with the Lakers oddly enough. Thankfully for Alexander it wasn’t anything serious. Agent Leon Rose and Towns denying the Lakers’ efforts may mean they feel confident the Wolves will select Towns with the first pick, which could please Jahlil Okafor who hasn’t exactly sounded too thrilled about going to Minnesota to begin with.
