Kentucky’s Towns or Duke’s Okafor? 10 storylines headed into the NBA draft

The pure post scorer or the more versatile two-way big man?

That could be the big question for the NBA team that ends up with the No. 1 pick via the draft lottery: Do you go with Duke’s Jahlil Okafor, the center with the tremendous low-post moves and defensive liabilities? Or do you take Kentucky’s Karl-Anthony Towns, the superior defender and no slouch offensively?

The NBA Draft Combine (May 12-15 at Quest Multisport complex) won’t settle the Okafor-or-Towns debate. In fact, it appears those two won’t participate. But the Combine sets in motion a six-week path to the June 25 draft at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

The Charlotte Hornets are again in the draft lottery, with about a six percent chance of moving up to a top-3 pick. Most likely under the rules of the weighted lottery they will pick ninth overall.

Okafor and Towns each turned pro after a single season of college basketball. Kentucky went undefeated until Wisconsin upset the Wildcats at the Final Four. Duke beat the Badgers for the national championship.

Okafor was more of a known quantity coming out of high school, a polished scorer and passer in the lane, though he lacks the lateral quickness to be an elite defender. The 6-11 center averaged 17.3 points and 8.5 rebounds at Duke.

Towns played mostly inside in Kentucky’s offense, but demonstrated a jump shot in high school that should help in the NBA. A 6-11 forward, Towns averaged 10.3 points and 6.7 rebounds at Kentucky.

Nine more NBA draft storylines headed into the Combine:

Emmanuel Mudiay, man of mystery

Mudiay, a 6-foot-5 point guard, committed to playing for Larry Brown at Southern Methodist before instead signing with the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association. Obviously playing in China made it more challenging for NBA scouts to monitor Mudiay’s development. He averaged 18 points and six assists in China.

That makes Mudiay the wild card in the 2015 lottery, similar to Australian guard Dante Exum a year ago. Whichever team drafts Mudiay will have less data than on his contemporaries who played at least a season of college ball. He is projected as a top-5 pick.

Mudiay’s size and athleticism are big pluses for a point guard. He reportedly needs to improve his shooting.

Who shows up, to do what?

Based on the list the NBA sent out Friday, Towns, Okafor and Mudiay won’t be in Chicago, even for the mass physicals portion of the Combine. That’s not so rare these days.

Top picks Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker and Joel Embiid all skipped the Combine entirely a year ago, choosing instead to do individual workouts and physicals once the draft order was established. Since they went 1-2-3, skipping the Combine obviously didn’t hurt their standing any.

In 2009 the NBA stopped staging 5-on-5 games at the Combine since so many draft prospects declined to participate. The league substituted physical testing for the games, and then top picks still declined to participate. The NBA is going back to 5-on-5 at this Combine, with the understanding only second-round players figure to participate.

Lottery order a week later

The NBA moved up the Combine to before the draft lottery a couple of years ago. There was a perception that would make it harder for agents to influence what players would or wouldn’t do at the Combine. Obviously that didn’t work. The NBA’s annual weighted lottery will settle the order of picks Nos. 1-14 the night of May 19.

Who’s likely to get drafted in the top 10?

Some order of Towns, Okafor, Mudiay, D’Angelo Russell and Justise Winslow figures to make up the first five. After that it get more murky and international players come into play. It becomes a guessing game how college players like Kentucky’s Willie Cauley-Stein or Wisconsin’s Sam Dekker stacks up against young European pros.

What is Russell’s position?

Russell had a spectacular freshman season at Ohio State that shot him up the draft charts. The question remains, "Is he a point guard or shooting guard at the NBA level?" It’s not a bad thing scouts aren’t sure because there’s a good chance he can excel at both.

He’s big enough at 6-foot-5 to match up with shooting guards. He handles well enough to be at least a part-time point. And he’s a terrific scorer-shooter based on that one college season (19.3 points per game on 45 percent from the field and 41 percent from 3-point range.) Nearly half of Russell’s total field-goal attempts came from outside the college 3-point line.

So embrace his versatility and don’t get caught up in labels.

Kentucky connection

Towns is one of seven Kentucky players in this draft. Kentucky’s John Calipari has adapted to a one-and-done world among elite basketball players as well as any college coach.

As many as five Kentucky players might be first-round candidates including guard Devin Booker, who could be a target for the Hornets. He’s the kind of shooter the Hornets need and he figures to be available at No. 9, the slot where the Hornets will most likely pick.

About that Hornets pick

The Hornets have used their last two lottery picks on power forwards Cody Zeller and Noah Vonleh, both of whom played for Indiana before turning pro. Their greatest need, following a disappointing 33-49 season, is shooting and scoring from the wing positions.

The Hornets would probably have to jump into one of the top three picks, via the draft lottery, to select Russell or Duke small forward Justise Winslow, either of whom would address their weakness.

One other intriguing wing player to consider: Croatian shooting guard-small forward Mario Hezonja. He’s 6-foot-8, highly athletic and made 38 percent of his 3-pointers in Euroleague games.

What if all the best wing scorers are gone when Hornets pick?

They can always add another big man; you can never have enough of those and veteran Jason Maxiell had to play a bigger role for the Hornets last season than the team envisioned when they signed him. A guy like Kentucky 7-footer Cauley-Stein would fit that description.

Can North Carolina’s J.P. Tokoto make it in the NBA?

Tokoto turned pro with college eligibility remaining, a decision that surprised many Tar Heels fans. If he makes an NBA roster, it will be primarily for his defense. He spent time at the IMG Academy in Florida this spring, trying to fix the mechanics of his jump shot.

This story was originally published May 9, 2015 at 2:00 AM with the headline "Kentucky’s Towns or Duke’s Okafor? 10 storylines headed into the NBA draft."