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Lakers swing for the fences, draft guard D’Angelo Russell with 2nd overall pick

June 25, 2015

D’Angelo Russell, right, gestures upward as he is greeted by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver after the Los Angeles Lakers selected Russell with the second pick in the NBA basketball draft, Thursday, June 25, 2015, in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

By Brian Han

The hours leading up to the draft were filled with two themes in regards to the Los Angeles Lakers and the team’s second overall pick.

“Lakers leaning toward drafting Jahlil Okafor,” the Los Angeles Times said, or ”Lakers shifting to D’Angelo Russell as No. 2 pick,” per CBS Sports.

All the speculation was put to rest on Thursday after the Lakers chose the 6-foot-5 guard from Ohio State University rather than the towering 6-foot-11 big man in Okafor from Duke University.

It’s a given that all teams respect size in the draft. You can’t teach a player how to grow an extra few inches.

But for the struggling franchise, they must not have seen what they wanted at its workout.

To be fair, the Lakers have a rising big man in Julius Randle who still holds rookie status after breaking his leg in the first game of the 2015 season.

Lakers head coach Byron Scott had this explanation – ”I think Okafor is going to be a good center in this league. I think D’Angelo has a chance to be a superstar.” In other words, the Lakers weren’t going to settle for a hit. They went for a home run.

Okafor was chosen third overall in the draft by the Philadelphia 76ers and as expected Karl-Anthony Townes was drafted first overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves.