The Minnesota Timberwolves, if they're smart and interested in winning, will draft Kentucky's Karl-Anthony Towns with the first pick of tonight's NBA Draft.
The intrigue should start when the Los Angeles Lakers are on the clock with the No. 2 pick.
Many analysts suspect the Lakers will choose Duke's Jahlil Okafor to partner with another front court prodigy, former Kentucky forward Julius Randle. By extension, the guard-hungry Philadelphia 76ers would take D'Angelo Russell with the No. 3 pick.
But no so fast, says BleacherReport.com's Kevin Ding, who, for my money, is the best NBA beat writer in the business.
The Lakers' reasoning?
They believe [Russell] is a star.
Although the Lakers respect Jahlil Okafor's size and skill (his defensive potential, not so much), momentum and consensus have been growing in the front office that Russell, not Okafor, is the special one.
Okafor apparently suffered a drop-off in his second workout with the club. Russell, on the other hand, dazzled front office execs with his fluid game. The Lakers execs believe him to be a bigger Stephen Curry, a comparison Russell hasn't run from.
In the end, it will be the call of Lakers' General Manager, Mitch Kupchak. It will be a decision that will change the course of the Lakers' trajectory over the next few years, but Ohio State fans will attest: They could do a lot worse than D'Angelo Russell.
And if the Lakers to pull the trigger on Patient 0, then the 2015 NBA Draft will officially be on the clock. Ding, for his part, thinks it's happening.
