It’s not clear exactly what the Lakers are going to do with the No. 2 pick, take big man Jahlil Okafor or point guard D’Angelo Russell. According to the well connected Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, the decision is still up in the air. It ultimately falls to GM Mitch Kupchak to make the call, and he’s not a guy to divulge what he’s thinking.
If the Lakers do take Russell at No. 2, the NBA Draft roller coaster will start early and fast.
The Sixers have the No. 3 pick and are loaded with big men. More importantly, Celtics GM Danny Ainge is high on Okafor and sees him as a perfect fit in green. Meaning if Okafor is on the board, Boston is going to go big to try and try to trade for the Sixers No. 3 pick, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, via CSNNE.com.The Celtics are prepared to make a “Godfather"trade offer to the Philadelphia 76ers if Duke’s Jahlil Okafor should slip to the No. 3 spot tonight in the NBA Draft, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported on “SportsCenter” Thursday morning....
Windhorst said NBA executives that he’s talked to think Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge will make “a Godfather offer” - one that can’t be refused - to the Sixers for Okafor. Windhorst mentioned Celtics point guard Marcus Smart being included in the offer.
Boston has the No. 16 and 28 picks in this draft, but it’s going to take a lot more than those two picks and Smart to get this deal done. A lot more. Which is why there have already been reports that those talks have stalled a little. Of course, the reality is we don’t know how much Ainge is willing to put on the table until the Lakers make their pick.
Meanwhile in Manhattan, Phil Jackson will host a drum circle in hopes of pleasing the universe so that the Sixers (or whoever gets their pick) take anyone but Okafor, and the Duke big man falls to New York. If not, he’ll take a lot of the same calls Sixers GM Sam Hinkie just got.