Jahlil Okafor will ask Timberwolves not to draft him, eyeing Lakers move [REPORT]

http://national.suntimes.com/nba/7/72/1159597/jahlil-okafor-timberwolves-lakers-draft


Jahlil Okafor will ask Timberwolves not to draft him, eyeing Lakers move [REPORT]

WRITTEN BY KEVIN O'BRIEN POSTED: 05/21/2015, 05:03PM





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Jahlil Okafor is reportedly considering asking the Minnesota Timberwolves not to take him with the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft this year.

The Duke star is expected to be a Top 2 pick, but apparently he doesn’t fancy the idea of being selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

He’s expected to be a Top 2 pick in the draft, but doesn’t want to go from playing for the National Champions, to playing his basketball in Minnesota.

Basketball scribe Chuck Myron reports that Okafor might ask the Timberwolves not to take him with the first overall pick, so he can drop to the Los Angeles Lakers at No. 2 overall.

I think Okafor might. There are rumors that he has his heart set on the Lakers … I wouldn’t be surprised if he and his agent (a college buddy of Flip Saunders, Givony also pointed out) try to dissuade the Wolves from drafting him.

That rarely works, though, and if the Wolves like him, they’ll take him. For what it’s worth, Towns seems more open to going wherever he’s picked.

You could understand why a young kid would rather go to the Lakers than the Timberwolves.

The prestigious LA franchise would give Okafor the opportunity to grow into a star like legendary figures Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant have before him.

But is it fair that Okafor asks the Timberwolves not to draft him?



bob
MY NOTE:  The T-Wolves are probably thinking "no problem, we'd rather have Towns anyway" but I can't believe that a kid who is just one year out of high school would try to tell a pro franchise "please don't pick me".  You're going to make something like $5-6M/year for being a #1 or #2 pick and you're want to cherry-pick who pays you that?  


.

Do you remember what Zach LaVine said to himself as he got up from the table when he was drafted by Minnesota last year? He said F**k Me.
No, he wasn't happy to go to Minnesota.
If I was Okafor, I would probably rather be the Lakers center for the next 10 years over the Timberwolves center.

I am not sure Towns will be excited to play for Minnesota. Maybe he will. Maybe he won't.
This was a tweet from Adrian Wojnarowski.


 Adrian Wojnarowski
✔  ‎@WojYahooNBA  
If Karl-Anthony Towns is determined to get to Lakers, it'll be interesting to see how agreeable his camp will be to meeting with Minnesota.


9:17 PM - 19 May 2015

 
I will be elated to have either of them.
I think Okafor will be a premier offensive center who has incredible length and footwork.
I think Towns will be a better shot blocker but not the scorer Okafor will be.
Neither of them has the athleticism of Dwight Howard or DeAndre Jordan, but I expect they will be more polished players.

What a coincidence!  I've already sent a letter to the Knicks asking them not to draft me.

What a world of privilege.  Hey, Jahlil.  Eat tinsel!  There's always a summer job in the local lumber yard.

My intense dislik of the Lakers has moderated over the years, thanks very largely to guys like Mustang and TJ.  This schmuck is already giving me reason to regress.

All that's needed now is for the league to declare a special dispensation so Phil "Please Mommy, Can I Have another Star for my Birthday?" Jackson can coach the Lakers without giving up his Knicks day job.

Can't wait to burst your balloons, Jahlil!

Sam

Should Minnesota play this out and try to get a draft pick from the Lakers by promising not to take Okafor?

wide clyde wrote:Should Minnesota play this out and try to get a draft pick from the Lakers by promising not to take Okafor?

There's no promises unless there's an actual trade.
I don't think the Lakers care if Towns or Okafor falls to them.

Last year Julius Randle refused a second workout for the celtics. Rumor was it was because he wanted to get picked by LAL one pick later. It worked out great for us.

Also, Smart refused to work out for the Jazz who picked fifth, which probably influenced their decision to draft Exum instead of Smart. That worked out very well too.

wide clyde wrote:Should Minnesota play this out and try to get a draft pick from the Lakers by promising not to take Okafor?

Minny needs to pick him and then say lets make a deal with Mitch!

112288

112288 wrote:

wide clyde wrote:Should Minnesota play this out and try to get a draft pick from the Lakers by promising not to take Okafor?

Minny needs to pick him and then say lets make a deal with Mitch!

112288

Don't you think Mitch will say no thank you and then pick Towns?

I don't think so.  For a second rounder I would do it if what appears Okafor to be #1 and I am going after free agents, 2nd round pick will never make the team.

112288

I am really tired of this generation. He should be thanking his lucky stars that he is making it to the NBA. You don't get to pick and choose where. Can you imagine the mass chaos they would have if kids started doing this from 1 to wherever. They are going to make the most money they have ever seen in their lives and they want to dictate where or who will draft them. Here's hoping that Flip takes him, then trades him to some god forsaken team. This is ridiculous.

I think a lot of it is their agents. I don't think many of these guys have the nerve to do something like this on their own.

This Okafor case (rumor?) could just be his camp knowing that Towns is likely to be the first pick anyway, so this is their way of pretending he's neck and neck for the #1 pick. I hope he goes third or lower.

Towns I can see wanting to play in Minny with his friend Wiggins. I'm sure there's a lot to be said for not playing in a media hot house. It's not all it's cracked up to be.

112288 wrote:I don't think so.  For a second rounder I would do it if what appears Okafor to be #1 and I am going after free agents, 2nd round pick will never make the team.

112288

Towns might be an all around better prospect which is why he is projected to go number 1. 
I think LA would be happy if Towns fell to them.

tjmakz wrote:

112288 wrote:I don't think so.  For a second rounder I would do it if what appears Okafor to be #1 and I am going after free agents, 2nd round pick will never make the team.

112288

Towns might be an all around better prospect which is why he is projected to go number 1. 
I think LA would be happy if Towns fell to them.

Okafor will be the better pick, especially once you guys sign Love and Rondo.

Okafor's inside game will mesh well with Love being an outside guy.

not sure about defense, but that's another story.

Okafor
Love
Kobe
Rondo

who's at SF?

kdp59 wrote:

tjmakz wrote:

112288 wrote:I don't think so.  For a second rounder I would do it if what appears Okafor to be #1 and I am going after free agents, 2nd round pick will never make the team.

112288

Towns might be an all around better prospect which is why he is projected to go number 1. 
I think LA would be happy if Towns fell to them.

Okafor will be the better pick, especially once you guys sign Love and Rondo.

Okafor's inside game will mesh well with Love being an outside guy.

not sure about defense, but that's another story.

Okafor
Love
Kobe
Rondo

who's at SF?

I really don't think Love or Rondo will be a high priority to the Lakers. 
I think they will pursue a SF as a free agent because they already have Randle as their PF. 
I really don't want Rondo unless it's a 1 year deal at about $2m or $3m. 
A team of Okafor, Randle, Harris, Kobe and Clarkson should get the Lakers to be playoff contenders.

I certainly hope that this guy, Okafor, has not asked the Timberwolves not to draft him.

Kind of whiney way to enter the league.