Minnesota Sports Forum

When you compare Towns and Okafur, I strongly prefer Towns based on:

(1) Rim Protection and Defense: We were the worst defense last year and we lacked a rim protector. Towns is just the answer to what ails us. Okafur is considered an average defender at best and not a rim protector.

(2) Free Throw Shooting: the other huge advantage Towns has over Okafur.

(3) Rebounding: Towns is a better rebounder than Okafur.

(4) Passing: Both are good passing big men, with Towns having the edge.

(5) Health: Based on last year, Towns was healthier. Okafur missed time with a sprained ankle. I also think with Okafur's greater weight, he would be more likely of the two to incur a serious ankle or foot injury.

(6) Athleticism: Towns is a better athlete

(7) Post game: Okafur's only real advantage, but Towns is no slouch and has much more room to improve.

(8 ) Outside Shooting: Towns clearly has more range and versatility as a scorer

(9) Intangibles: I have heard rave reviews of Towns as coachable and unselfish player who desires to do great things. He's also friends with Wiggins. Haven't heard as much about Okafur, other than he's also very coachable.

My take is Towns is the guy who is more likely to develop into a franchise player. He's better than a healthy Bynum and has some of the same gifts as Anthony Davis, and his upside is a player nearly as good as Davis, without the health issues. Okafur is probably an improved Al Jefferson or a Duncan on offense, but without Duncan's defense or rebounding. I am glad we have these guys as choices, but I think Towns is the home run pick here.

I think the best Towns comparison is Horford with a higher upside. Okafor's best comparison is Brad Daugherty. Russell's best comp is Brandon Roy.

My biggest concern with Towns is 51% of games he was held to within single digits. Cousins, Jones, Davis, Noel, and Randle weren't held to single digits near that often. That leads me to believe that it's not Calipari holding back. That's the concern to me. Towns will be a good pick and if I were a betting man I would bet heavily that he will be the pick.

Towns shoots well, but all of Kentucky's starters got low minutes and they are so good that he couldn't be the focal point of the offense like he could have been if he played somewhere else, so his scoring this year doesn't concern me much at all. I would expect that he'll score much more as a pro and I certainly think he'll develop into a double double machine with elite defense.

Towns scored more than Westbrook in college and Westbrook is an elite scorer. Based on what he's shown so far, he projects to be a decent scorer on the next level. We don't need him to be the top scorer with Wiggins, but after a few years in the league I'd expect he'd score in the high teens per game.

There's a lot to like about both players and I'm excited we'll get one of them but I still go with Okafor.

1-Never draft for need at the top of the draft and if you watched Towns attempt to guard Kaminsky you know he's got a bit of work to do on that end
2-Yes but Okafor got to the line more often
3-Probably but Okafor is a capable rebounder
4-Even as far as I can tell
5-No issue Okafor missed 1 game
6-Yes but I don't know where the elite Towns athleticism comes from. He's no AD but for some reason that comparison keeps coming up.
7-Towns has nothing on Okafor in this category, it would be like comparing the defense of Okafor and WCS
8-Towns 25% shooting on 8 attempts is certainly not evidence of range or versatility
9-Without really knowing either I'd have to put this down as a wash

I think there is a consensus that Towns is the BPA, so its not like we'd only be drafting for need but getting a guy that many believe has great upside. Drummond gets to the free throw line alot, but that's not a good thing. Okafor's terrible Free throw shooting is a huge negative, that shouldn't be overlooked.

TRKO wrote:I think the best Towns comparison is Horford with a higher upside. Okafor's best comparison is Brad Daugherty. Russell's best comp is Brandon Roy.

I will take the Brandon Roy type player please.

Now we need a case for Russell Thread. I will go start it.

bleedspeed177 wrote:Now we need a case for Russell Thread. I will go start it.

Yikes! Towns is a better shooter at the line than that guy. While he can hit 3s, his overall FG% sucks and his FT% is bad for a guard. He's undersized at 6"4 for a shooting guard. Towns is a vastly superior pick and I'd definitely take Okafor over Russell. Heck, I might even take Porzingis over Russell.

TeamRicky wrote:

bleedspeed177 wrote:Now we need a case for Russell Thread. I will go start it.

Yikes! Towns is a better shooter at the line than that guy. While he can hit 3s, his overall FG% sucks and his FT% is bad for a guard. He's undersized at 6"4 for a shooting guard. Towns is a vastly superior pick and I'd definitely take Okafor over Russell. Heck, I might even take Porzingis over Russell.

I'd take Mudiay over Russell.