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Karl-Anthony Towns vs. Jahlil Okafor: A Win-Win Situation in the NBA Draft

By Drew Mahowald

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Ever since the Minnesota Timberwolves won the NBA Draft Lottery a few weeks back, the debate about who should be taken with that first overall selection has gradually heated up.

In all likelihood, the Timberwolves will select either Karl-Anthony Towns of Kentucky or Jahlil Okafor of Duke. While each of these players have unique skill-sets and styles of play, both have star potential in the NBA.

Recently, Towns has gained some momentum and appears to be who the Timberwolves favor at this time. However, there is still plenty of time before the draft and this could easily change.

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Throughout the last few weeks, I’ve conversed with many fellow Wolves fans on Twitter as well as simply observed other discussions. One thing I’ve noticed among fans is that many seem to believe in their own preference so strongly that they forget the fact that both players are probably just as talented as each other.

Even if this is acknowledged, even more fans will argue for their preference, whether Towns or Okafor, and debate this because of how well they’d fit with the team or how well they could address certain weaknesses on this team. It’s as if there’s no way that the player who’s not their preference could be a good fit with this Wolves team.

Here’s the thing: A valid case can be made for both players, easily.

Apr 4, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Karl-Anthony Towns (12) dunks during the second half of the 2015 NCAA Men

The Case for Towns

If Karl-Anthony Towns is Flip Saunders’ selection, he’ll help the Timberwolves in a number of ways. Defensively, Towns’ ability to defend in the low post will give this rather weak defense a solid boost. Last season the three players who primarily played the center position for the Wolves last season (Gorgui Dieng, Nikola Pekovic, and Justin Hamilton) all struggled mightily on the defensive end. In fact, they all finished with a defensive rating (average number of points scored by the opposing team when the player is on the floor per 100 possessions) of greater than 105. Clearly, Towns would address this issue.

What might be the most valuable asset of Towns’ defense is his versatility. If Towns finds himself switched onto a guard out on the perimeter, he’ll likely be able to hold his own. Furthermore, this makes him a great pick-and-roll defender because of his solid lateral movement and footwork.

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    • Additionally, some favor Towns because he fits the mold of a traditional big man in “today’s NBA”. In other words, Towns matches the big men of the NBA today which is a player that can space the floor offensively and be able to defend and rebound. While it doesn’t seem as if mid-range or perimeter shooting is necessarily a strength of Towns’ (yet), he has shown that he can at least be a threat from outside the paint.  This allows Towns to pull bigger defenders out of the paint because they have to guard him, and open things up for other scorers.

    Towns doesn’t really have one particular strength or weakness in his game. He’s solid on both sides of the floor as well as on the glass. It’s also very likely that Kevin Garnett will be there acting as a mentor to Towns if he’s selected, and there’s definitely nothing wrong with that. Overall, Towns would be an excellent selection for the Timberwolves with the first overall pick.

    The Case for Okafor

    Mar 20, 2015; Charlotte, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils center Jahlil Okafor (15) misses a reverse dunk during the second half against the Robert Morris Colonials in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Time Warner Cable Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

    Okafor is one of the more interesting prospects in this draft class. Many see Okafor as a must-have, once-in-a-decade type of prospect while others shy away from him.

    If Okafor is drafted by the Timberwolves, he will instantly give the offense a huge boost. He is easily the most offensively talented big man not just in this draft class, but probably in the past few draft classes as well. This past season, aside from a few games, the Timberwolves generally didn’t get much offensive production from the center position. Nikola Pekovic spent most of the season injured and Gorgui Dieng remains mainly a defensive-minded player. Okafor would increase that offensive production dramatically.

    Okafor’s ability offensively would help the Timberwolves in a number of ways. First of all, he would take a lot of pressure off the wing players that are generally called upon to score for the Wolves, namely Andrew Wiggins and Kevin Martin. Okafor would be able to take some of the load off of them in terms of scoring on offense and draw some attention from the defense.

    Also, Okafor’s rare arsenal of post moves will draw double-teams once he becomes a threat in the NBA (which won’t take long). This will open things up that much more for the rest of the offense to operate. During his time at Duke, Okafor showed a great ability to pass out of double-teams, which is very important for a player like him who will draw those double-teams. He’ll be able to find shooters on the perimeter or players on a cut to the basket.

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    • Some argue that Okafor’s style of play just won’t work in today’s NBA because teams are going away from the 7-footers with post moves and are instead using smaller, quicker players and playing from the perimeter. While this is true to a degree, a player of Okafor’s talent will help any offense. As we’ve seen several times in the NBA Finals with the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James, being able to isolate a guy in a post-up situation and get points more often than not can be solid offense. Now, Okafor is obviously no LeBron James, but there’s something to be said about an offense that seems to be effective that relies squarely on one guy isolating on one half of the floor. Okafor has the offensive post skills to make this work.

    Okafor’s defense raises another question mark. During his time at Duke, Okafor tended to struggle in one-on-one defense situations and also seemed to get lackadaisical at times. While this is definitely a concern, Okafor can still become a good defender in the NBA. He has a legitimate 7-foot-6 wingspan and excellent footwork for a guy his size. Also, as mentioned previously in the case for Towns, Kevin Garnett will be able to teach Okafor a few things and this will greatly help the chances of Okafor becoming a solid defender.

    Summary

    While Towns and Okafor are both different types of players with unique skillsets, each of them would help the Timberwolves tremendously. They’re both potential number one overall draft picks for a reason and the talent they have should translate easily to the NBA. Towns has serious potential and is still considered a safer pick because he’s solid in virtually every area of the game.

    Okafor, while not as safe of a pick as Towns, has even more upside, mainly because his defense is still a question mark. If Okafor can become a solid defender, signs point to him being a superstar in the NBA. Still, though, the Wolves definitely can’t go wrong with either player.

    So, while many of you have a preference in the Towns-Okafor debate, you should be very happy with either player – it’s a classic win-win situation. However way you look at it, the Timberwolves will get another extremely talented and potential star player who will add to the already superb group of young players that has been put together in Minnesota.

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