3 Reasons Why the Lakers Should Trade up to Get Towns

Apr 4, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Karl-Anthony Towns (12) dunks during the second half of the 2015 NCAA Men

Shortly after coming in for a private workout, multiple reports came out indicating that the Lakers had zeroed in on Jahlil Okafor, and that they would take with him with no. 2 overall pick in the upcoming NBA draft.  These reports made sense given the undeniable talent that Okafor demonstrated throughout the NCAA season, culminating in winning the national championship.

-== How The Top 5 NBA Prospects Fit With The Lakers ==-

But despite being reportedly sold on taking Okafor with the no. 2 pick, the question still remains whether the Lakers should attempt to make a trade with the Timberwolves for the no. 1 pick so that they could select Karl Anthony-Towns.  Of course, the Lakers could certainly sit back, and see if the Twolves take Okafor no. 1, but that seems increasingly less likely given that Towns is almost universally viewed as the better prospect (even if its not by as much as many are making it out to be).

So, with that being said, here are 3 reasons why trading up for Towns would make sense for the Lakers:

1. Towns’ Versatility

Towns is, without a doubt, the more versatile player when compared to Okafor.  In other words, while Okafor will almost assuredly only be able to play the 5 in the NBA, Towns could easily alternate between power forward and center from a defensive perspective.  This is because Towns is much, much more athletic than Okafor, and would likely have no problem keeping up defensively with 4s in the NBA.  But Towns also has the size to bang with 5s down on the block, weighing in at even 250 pounds.  And while that certainly is not a ton of weight, Towns also has an almost 7′.4″ wingspan to help make up for any weight differential.

Along those same lines, Towns also has the versatility to alternate between the 4 and the 5 offensively.  This because Towns has already demonstrated the ability to step out and hit jump shots, even showing off an impressive looking 3 point shot during a recent workout.  In today’s NBA, it seems more and more important to have a 4 with the ability to space the floor by being a threat to hit shots from the outside.  Additionally, Towns has also shown flashes of an improving post game, demonstrating that if you threw him the ball down on the block, he could go to work.

This versatility would give the Lakers more options during the upcoming free agency period, as they can feel comfortable pursuing defensively challenged 4s (e.g. Kevin Love) or starting caliber 5s (e.g. DeAndre Jordan) without having to worry as much about how they would fit with Towns.  Okafor, on the other hand, would clearly not fit with certain kind of players, like Love or Jordan, or any other free agent centers for that matter (e.g., Marc Gasol, Roy Hibbert, Brook Lopez, etc.).

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