Minnesota Timberwolves president and coach Flip Saunders reportedly prefers Duke center Jahlil Okafor over Kentucky center Karl-Anthony Towns in the 2015 NBA draft. Perhaps more surprising, Saunders also reportedly likes Ohio State guard D'Angelo Russell.
Two reports in as many days claim Saunders is leaning toward drafting Okafor with the No. 1 pick. The first report came from Chris Johnson and Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated.
"While most analysts consider Kentucky's Karl-Anthony Towns this year's top prospect, there are reasons to think the Wolves will select Jahlil Okafor instead," Johnson and Woo wrote Monday. "Flip Saunders isn't a big proponent of three-point shooting-Minnesota ranked dead last in the league in attempts last season-but is a fan of traditional post play. ... Saunders reportedly 'really likes' the post-bound Okafor and may view him as more attractive than Towns, who offers more versatility and range on his jump shot."
Chad Ford of ESPN confirmed the report on Tuesday.
"Virtually all the signals from sources inside the Wolves point to Jahlil Okafor being Flip Saunders' favorite right now," Ford wrote. "That obviously can change as we get closer to the draft. Workouts and interviews and lobbying from staff (I hear most of the rest of the staff favors Towns) could push Towns back atop."
Scouts view Towns as having more upside, but they universally consider Okafor to be more polished on offense and to be the better player in the post. The reasoning Sports Illustrated gave for Minnesota drafting Okafor makes sense, but it's hard to see Minnesota passing on the chance to get Towns, a player whose game has some similarities to Kevin Garnett's.
Ford also reported Saunders was a "big fan" of Russell and suggested Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio could be on the move this summer, despite signing a four-year contract extension in October. While nobody is sold on Rubio being Minnesota's 1-guard of the future, there's no way Saunders could justify using the first overall pick on a player not named Towns or Okafor.
The NBA draft is on June 25.
