How Would Jahlil Okafor Affect Free Agency For The Lakers?

Should the Minnesota Timberwolves select Karl-Anthony Towns with the first overall pick in the NBA Draft, that would most likely mean that the Los Angeles Lakers will take Jahlil Okafor with the second overall pick.

With a boat load of salary cap room, and a roster with no shortage of problems, Okafor may prompt renewed action from the Lakers’ front-office.

For starters, Jordan Hill will, in all likelihood, be gone. That should be no surprise to Lakers fans. In fact, Hill would likely not be a Laker next season regardless of who is available and taken with the second pick.

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Okafor especially though, would put out Jordan Hill‘s fire in LA.

Hill is a scoring big-man who can’t really score.

When Hill stuck to his guns, posted up, and went to work, the results weren’t actually that bad as he shot 59.7 percent from less than five-feet away from the basket.

Unfortunately, Hill caught an extreme case of Josh Smith this season, falling in love with jump-shots he can’t really make.

Hill shot 38-percent on the season from the mid-ranged area, prompting a city-wide groan from Lakers fans every time he hoisted another ill-advised jumper.

Okafor, on the other hand, knows his strength is his offensive post-game, and will be constantly working on it in order to master the NBA’s low-block.

Expect a slower pace with Okafor in the middle, as he finds his footing in the paint and, hopefully, remembers that he can’t really shoot.

Another consequence of Okafor would likely be the effort to keep Ed Davis and part ways with Carlos Boozer.

Boozer’s presence on the team last season was, to put it mildly, out of place. His lack of a defensive presence merely amplifies the horrible fit of him in a front-court that could feature Julius Randle and Okafor.

While the offensive potential of such a pairing is significant, defense will certainly be a point of concern — at least at first.

If Randle can get his feet under him quickly, his athleticism will make him at least somewhat competent defensively, but Okafor will need several seasons to work on his defense if he’s to be anywhere near a respectable NBA defender.

Hence, Ed Davis.

A solid defender who can fight for positioning with the best of them, Davis uses his strength to make up for his lack of athleticism and shot-blocking.

Davis would allow the Lakers to present opponents with at least some low-post defense.

As far as the back-court goes, LA might want to hold off on the pursuit of a point-guard, including their own Jeremy Lin who is an unrestricted free-agent this summer.

Lin’s impressive play toward the end of the Lakers’ season will potentially bait another team into giving him an exuberant amount of money, much like the Houston Rockets did three years ago.

Couple that possibility with the fact that the jury is still out on Jordan Clarkson, not to mention point-guard is the deepest position in the league by-far and a backup can be easily found.

While point-guard shouldn’t be a priority, Okafor’s scoring potential doesn’t diminish the need for depth at the wings.

With Kobe Bryant‘s career coming to a close soon, and Nick Young likely being gone if the Lakers can find someone mad enough to take on his contract, the future at shooting-guard looks uncertain.

Wesley Matthews would be a phenomenal fit with the Lakers should they draft Okafor.

A laser three-point shooter who shot 38-percent from deep last season and a good perimeter defender, the only question with Matthews is the Achilles injury that he will be coming off of next season.

The injury though, would give any suitors — including the Lakers — the chance to low-ball him, citing concerns over his injury and how well he will bounce back from it.

This could work in the Lakers’ advantage. Matthews would open up space for Okafor, allowing him to find himself offensively.

Moreover, Matthews is a superb off-ball player, and would provide Okafor with a consistent outlet pass threat on the perimeter.

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It’s still uncertain if the Lakers are even considering pursuit of Matthews, but he would help Okafor’s offensive development immensely, all the while helping to get LA back to their winning ways.

Small-forward though, doesn’t look quite as simple.

With names like Al-Farouq Aminu, Jae Crowder, and Tobias Harris floating around, there’s no clear-cut answer this summer.

The Lakers may want to re-sign Wesley Johnson for the year and go all-in for Kevin Durant in 2016.

If they do elect to pursue a small-forward this summer though, I like the fit of Gerald Green. Green was in-and-out of Jeff Hornacek‘s rotation in Phoenix this past season, as he favored the likes of P.J. Tucker and Marcus Morris at the three.

Green still managed to average 12 points while shooting 35 percent from deep despite never really finding consistency in the lineup.

In addition to his shooting, the 29 year-old Green is a freakish athlete that can defend with the best of them and finish inside.

The more spacing LA can find for Okafor, the better.

Bottom Line: Okafor is more important than other additions

He has the potential to blossom into the kind of low-post threat that laughs in the face of double-teams, but he shouldn’t be put in a position to have to do that just yet.

If the Lakers end up with Okafor, I’d expect a Stan Van Gundy style of offense much of the time, especially when Kobe Bryant is on the bench.