It appears Jahlil Okafor wants to play for the Lakers, not the Timberwolves, but he won’t cause problems if Minnesota drafts him, a basketball source told Sports Headliners.
“Based on what I am hearing, Okafor would rather not be drafted by Minnesota,” the person said. “He would prefer to go to L.A. I don’t know if that is because of more glamour—the glamour franchise, the history or whatever. But that seems to be what people that are close to him are saying.”
The source, who asked that his name not be used, has college basketball connections and has been around Okafor in the past. He doesn’t know if Okafor or his agent, former Gophers basketball player Bill Duffy, have communicated the desire to play with the Lakers but it seems likely they have.
The Timberwolves have the No. 1 pick in the first round of the June 25 NBA Draft while the Lakers have the No. 2 selection. Duke’s Okafor and Kentucky’s Karl-Anthony Towns, who are expected to be the first two players chosen in the draft, have no control over which NBA teams choose them but they aren’t without options. However, the alternatives—including choosing to play in Europe, or publicly and privately raising hell about being on a certain NBA team—aren’t that attractive.
Okafor isn’t expected to choose either of those options if the Wolves select him. The source said the 19-year-old is a “great kid” and the Wolves won’t have to worry about his attitude.
So Okafor won’t mope if he lands in Minneapolis and not Los Angeles?
“Oh, no, he’s not that kind of player,” the source said. “Not that kind of person. He just wants players around him that want to play, that know how to play, that will pass the ball.”
As a freshman this spring the 6-11, 270-pound center helped lead Duke to the national championship. His large hands and powerful body make him a special talent in the low post. He is also a willing passer who could complement any NBA offense. Okafor’s defense and foul shooting are sometimes criticized but he has the work ethic and athleticism to improve in those areas.
Towns, 6-11, 250, can’t match Okafor’s offensive abilities but he’s the superior defender. He is a force blocking shots, and his athleticism also allows him to effectively defend pick and rolls—a staple of NBA offenses.
Who will the Timberwolves choose? How will they decide? And in a close debate might Okafor’s speculated preference in not playing for Minnesota impact who Wolves president and coach Flip Saunders ultimately decides to select?
Former professional coach Bill Fitch was asked his opinion. “You draft on your weakness,” said Bill Fitch, the ex-Gophers and NBA coach. “Best player available at your weakness.”
It’s unanimous inside and outside the Wolves’ organization the roster is much in need of defensive improvement. That certainly could tip the organization’s preference toward Towns.
Fitch was coaching the Rockets in 1984 when they had the first overall pick. A guy named Michael Jordan from North Carolina was available but the Rockets chose Hakeem Olajuwon. Carolina coach Dean Smith, a longtime friend of Fitch, told him it must be uncomfortable to pass on the best guy in the draft, his phenom Jordan.
“I said, well, I think I am getting the best player in the draft for my club,” Fitch recalled in an interview with Sports Headliners. “In other words we needed that hometown guy. We needed a guy that could block shots and rebound. He (Smith) was very high on Jordan.”
Fitch defends the Olajuwon selection to this day. Olajuwon had played at the University of Houston and the athletic center was so popular the Rockets knew he would be instant box office. The club needed Olajuwon’s defense and other skills including his dazzling scoring moves.
He eventually led the Rockets to two NBA titles and Fitch suspects there would have been more had Ralph Sampson stayed healthy. Sampson, the former 7-4 center from Virginia, was Houston’s No. 1 selection in 1983 and formed the famous “Twin Towers” with Olajuwon.
Fitch said if he was running the Wolves he would value talking to Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski about Okafor. “In other words, he’s not going to lie to you. There’s nobody that knows that kid at this stage of his career better than coach K.”
Talking to Okafor and Towns, and others who have been around them, can provide value, too, but Fitch doesn’t give a strong nod to the agents representing players in the draft. “You can talk to the agents all you want but you gotta remember you gotta walk in that stuff after you get done talking with them,” said Fitch who won 944 games with five different teams as an NBA coach. “It’s more important to talk with the kids.”
There are numerous mock drafts projecting first round selections including Bleacherreport.com and Draftexpress.com. Both predict the Wolves will select Towns with the Lakers then choosing Okafor.
The two websites agreed earlier in the week the Rockets will select former Apple Valley High School point guard Tyus Jones with the No. 18 selection. But today Bleacherreport.com has Jones going to the Cavs at No. 24 while Draftexpress.com predicts the Mavericks will take him at No. 21.
Okafor and Jones have been friends for years, played together at Duke as freshmen, and no doubt would love to some day wear the same NBA uniform. If the Wolves ended up with both former Dukies it might be a factor in keeping Okafor here beyond his rookie contract that can bind him to Minnesota for four years.
Draftexpress.com predicts former Robbinsdale Cooper High School star Rashad Vaughn, a shooting guard, will be selected 26th in the first round by the Spurs. Bleacherreport.com projects Vaughn, who was a freshman last season at UNLV, will be selected at No. 28 by the Celtics.
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