While the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers battle it out for the Larry O'Brien Trophy, the NBA's minions are focused on the June 25 draft.
And as holders of the No. 2 pick, the Los Angeles Lakers are focused on Duke center Jahlil Okafor, according to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated.
Conventional wisdom for the last month has had the Lakers selecting whichever big man the Minnesota Timberwolves don't take at No. 1 - a choice between Okafor and Kentucky's Karl-Anthony Towns.
Unless there's a slam-dunk first, like LeBron James in 2003 or Shaquille O'Neal in 1992, draft speculation should always be taken with a grain of salt. However, Towns appears to have passed Okafor on the charts recently, in large part due to his more current spacing ability. Okafor, on the other hand, is an old-school beast around the basket offensively, with some perceived defensive shortcomings - an evaluation he disagrees with.
The 19-year-old worked out for the Lakers this week, and told L.A. media that he could co-exist with power forward Julius Randle, who's expected to play major minutes next season after a broken leg cost him his rookie year. There have been duplication concerns about such a pairing, leading to speculation that the Lakers may instead have interest in guards like D'Angelo Russell or Emmanuel Mudiay.
