Scouting the NBA draft, with the three biggest winners and losers from the first round:
The winners:
1. D’Angelo Russell _ Instead of landing in the NBA war zones of Philly or New York, both in the midst of hideous rebuilding projects, Russell gets to join the Lakers, who could make a big jump this season off a franchise-high 61-loss season. Most scouts had the NBA’s Tiffany franchise going for Duke center Jahlil Okafor with the No. 2 pick. But Russell is rated the top talent in the draft, according to several scouts and, perhaps most notably, Golden State consultant Jerry West, the former Laker exec who built a couple of dynasties during his days in Tinseltown. The Lakers now should be able to match all of the Western Conference powers with a potential superstar guard of their own. With Kobe Bryant in the sunset of his career, the Lakers desperately had to upgrade their backcourt and did that with a tremendous passer who should also be able to score on the next level. By passing over Okafor, that also means that they probably know that they have a great chance to land a major frontcourt scorer in free agency. Kevin Love was linked to the Lakers, even before he opted out of the final year of his contract with the Cavs on Wednesday. In addition, LeMarcus Aldridge is leaving Portland and is looking at the Lakers or returning to his native Texas to play for the San Antonio Spurs.
Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russell, projected for weeks to go No. 3 at the earliest in the NBA draft, went to the Lakers at No. 2 when they made the surprise pick of the night.Photo:media.bakersfieldnow.com
2. Minnesota _ This isn’t a typo. The long-suffering Timberwolves finally got a versatile big man in the draft’s top pick, Karl Anthony Towns. With some work, he could develop into their best power forward/center since they landed Kevin Garnett out of high school with the fifth pick overall in 1995. Look for Garnett to serve as a mentor for Towns. In fact, the T-wolves purposely put Towns’ locker right next to the Big Ticket, who returned to Minnesota last season after an unsuccessful stint with the Nets. Minnesota believes that Towns is the perfect complement to Andrew Wiggins, their Rookie of the Year who went to the T-wolves when the team TISI NaN% traded Kevin Love to the Cavaliers last summer. After 11 straight seasons in which they failed to make the playoffs _ the longest such streak in the NBA _ Minnesota now has a dynamic 1-2 combination to start to make an ascent in the powerful West. They have a history: Towns and Wiggins were roommates in the 2013 Nike Hoops Summit.
3. Miami – They still haven’t replaced LeBron James, and probably never will. But the Heat landed a much-needed top athlete at No. 10 in Duke’s Justise Winslow. As one scout put it, “he’s not a good shooter, but he’s just a good player.’’ Winslow might have fallen in the draft a few spots because he doesn’t have a set position and struggles with his perimeter game. But he also did not reports for several pre-draft workouts in tip-top shape, according to scouts. But now with the Heat, he will be whipped into the best shape of his life. Team president Pat Riley has been known to cut players for breaking the team’s strict rules on body fat and other fitness standards. The Heat is partial to Duke players: Owner Micky Arison’s son, Nick, the team’s chief executive officer, is a former Duke basketball manager, when the Devils won the 2001 NCAA championship. Rest assured, they know all about Winslow.
The losers:
1. Boston – Paging Red Auerbach! We know the Celtics have a zillion No. 1 picks, including when they fleeced the Nets in the Paul Pierce-Kevin Garnett deal, among all the other trades that GM Danny Ainge has pulled off the last few years as he’s gone about rebuilding. But he’s got to start converting those into big-time players, and it seems as if the Celtics are stuck on drafting small guards. They did it again by taking Terry Rozier, the 6-2 Louisville guard who has been compared to the Suns’ Eric Bledsoe as a combo guard. Many scouts think using the No. 16 pick on Rozier was the biggest reach of the first round, until the Lakers took Larry Nance Jr., projected as no more than a second-round pick, at No. 27. That made no sense. Rozier joins a backcourt with plenty of under-sized guards, including Marcus Smart (listed liberally at 6-4), Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley. The Celtics are actively trying to trade Smart, their top pick from last season (6th pick overall) who is not a pure point, struggles with his shooting and has trouble keeping up with quicker opponents.
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