Twists and turns galore
There were even some boos for selections by Knicks’ Phil Jackson
NEWYORK — There were stunners nearly right off the bat and they kept coming all night at the NBA Draft Thursday.
After Karl-Anthony Towns went No. 1 to Minnesota, as expected, forming quite the combination with last year’s top dog, rookie of the year Andrew Wiggins, the Lakers boldly went with point guard D’Angelo Russell instead of Duke centre Jahlil Okafor, who had been the projected top pick nearly all year.
Philly swooped in and added Okafor to its growing collection of big men (Joel Embiid, Nerlens Noel)
New York Knicks boss Phil Jackson trusted his instincts and went with Latvian power forward Kristaps Porzingis, causing the partisan Knicks crowd in Brooklyn to collectively lose their minds. Stunned Knicks fans mostly booed the selection as vociferously as a Toronto crowd at the SkyDome once booed Damon Stoudamire. That turned out well for the Raptors in the end, but the jury is out on New York’s bold gambit, though many executives believe he will be a star.
Just as stunningly, Duke’s Justise Winslow, the key player in the school’s run to the NCAA championship this season, inexplicably fell to Miami at No. 10.
That immediately seemed like a mistake by the teams in front of the Heat.
“I’ve never been to Miami, but I’m sure I can fall in love with it,” Winslow said.
Sacramento had gone off the board at No. 6 in reaching for Kentucky centre Willie Cauley-Stein. Nobody — except for Yahoo Sports oracle Adrian Wojnarowski, who was telling agents where their clients were going before they even knew at times — had much of a clue early on what was coming next.
Other surprises included Louisville’s Terry Rozier going 10 spots higher than anyone expected, Bobby Portis slipping to Chicago at 22, Tyus Jones to Minnesota at 24 and R.J. Hunter to Boston at 28.
But the Russell selection was the first stunner. With the NBA increasingly becoming a guard’s league, Russell, the best passer to enter the draft in years, broke the long Lakers tradition of opting for franchise big men, which many expect Okafor to be.
Los Angeles is surely confident a free agent power forward like LaMarcus Aldridge or a trade for DeMarcus Cousins will be completed this summer.
The presence of defensively-challenged power forward Julius Randle also likely played a role in passing on Okafor.
Towning achievement
Top pick Towns said he could barely take the stage to meet commissioner Adam Silver.
“When Mr. Adam Silver came out, I saw him, and he said, with the No. 1 pick, I was racing,” Towns said.
“I told Coach Cal before when he first came out that I was trying to drink the water and I was shaking uncontrollably, and I told him, Coach, don’t give me the ball right now for the last-second shot. I wouldn’t make it. And I just found out when he went up there and he said it. I was just shocked and just extremely happy that I was able to give my parents something that they can remember for the rest of their lives.”
Around the rim
Duke has now had at least two players selected in the first round in five consecutive drafts. … Raptors pick Delon Wright was the first player drafted out of Utah since Andrew Bogut in 2005. Cameron Payne was the first ever out of Murray State.