Heading into the upcoming draft, the two big men are the consensus top selections all teams should have their eye on. Historically, you just don’t pass on skilled seven-footers as cornerstones of your franchise.
D’Angelo Russell is here to make you rethink that strategy, though.
Tuesday, he worked out alongside one of the aforementioned franchise big men: Karl-Anthony Towns as well as Willie Trill Cauley-Stein. While his work out consisted of different drills from the other two, Russell showed what has fans falling reconsidering historic rebuilds.
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Here is the full clip, courtesy of Draft Express.
Russell showcased ball-handling ability, a nice jumper (though it’ll have to improve as his career goes along) passing and work ethic. Don MacLean, former UCLA star, hosted the workout and raved about Russell many talents as both a scorer and playmaker.
Right at the end of the video, watch for what appears to be Russell making shots from basically half-court as if it’s nothing.
Again, the safe bet for the Lakers is to draft whomever the Minnesota Timberwolves do not between Towns and Jahlil Okafor. I simply cannot see them passing on Towns should he fall to them, but if it’s between Russell and Okafor and they do choose the former Ohio State Buckeye, I honestly couldn’t blame them.
Russell also plans to work out privately for the Lakers in the coming weeks.