NBA Rookie of the Year 2016: Karl-Anthony Towns beats out D’Angelo Russell, others
By Keith Rivas
The NBA Rookie of the Year 2016 award is reportedly going to Karl-Anthony Towns — does that leave the Lakers bitter?
Last year’s draft gave the Lakers a big decision to make with the second overall selection.
In that moment, Los Angeles thought it would be in their best interest to invest in point guard D’Angelo Russell from Ohio State, who is still trying to find a way to make the game his own.
At first the team was bent on making this look like one of their best decisions in quite some time, but it just so happens that the Lakers were one pick away from getting this year’s best rookie.
As reported by Lakers Nation, the Minnesota Timberwolves will be having a press conference on Monday to address the honor given to Karl-Anthony Towns.
The former Kentucky star averaged 18 points and ten rebounds per game, while Russell stayed behind him with averages of 13 points and three rebounds in each contest.
D’Angelo Russell took a little longer than expected to appear comfortable on the floor, and this had plenty of Lakers fans worried about how their team was going to do right away with the young talent they had available.
The Wolves announce a Monday morning news conference in which they're expected to formally announce Karl-Anthony Towns as Rookie of the Year
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) May 15, 2016
While Russell continues to work on improving how he plays the game, Towns more than deserves the award this season, as he’s done a spectacular job of blooming where he’s planted.
The Lakers are going to do what they can to get some star power this off-season, but even then the focus on Russell shouldn’t change. Being drafted as high as he did comes with lofty expectations, especially when selected by a franchise such as the Lakers
This season, neither Minnesota or Los Angeles found themselves in the playoffs, but moving forward, things look bright for both squads as they hope to quickly develop their young talent into the game’s next big names.
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There’s plenty of room for Russell to stay poised and on top of things, and although he didn’t turn out to have the best rookie season, he could prove to be one of the best worthwhile investments down the road.