Lakers Can Grab Kobe’s Replacement at No. 2

The big excitement out of the gates in the NBA Draft hinges on if the Los Angeles Lakers pick guard D’Angelo Russell out of Ohio State to play as a temporary backcourt mate and ultimate heir to Kobe Bryant.

You always want to draft a freshman because they improve so much. Looking at the top 5 Value Adds of any freshman, Russell gets the edge over Okafor, assuming Lakers choose him.

Great 2015 Season at:	Player	Class	Value Add
Kentucky	Towns, Karl-Anthony 12	1 Fr	11.39
Ohio St.	Russell, D’Angelo 0	1 Fr	8.41
Duke	Jones, Tyus 5	1 Fr	8.11
Duke	Okafor, Jahlil 15	1 Fr	7.78
Duke	Winslow, Justise 12	1 Fr	7.18

Make a note: Karl-Anthony Towns of Kentucky is the only absolutely clear choice at No. 1. He is much, much, much, better than anyone else. His 11.39 rating at www.valueaddbasketball.com means he improved Kentucky by over 11 points a game, slightly less than senior Delon Wright of Utah (11.88). But a senior plays close to his peak. Towns projects to be worth almost 20 additional points per game if he stayed three more years. So, his value is almost double that of Wright long term.

The real significance of Russell going to the Lakers is that they are finally going to build through a draft, creating the path to contend after Kobe Bryant leaves and even if he is not able to return to form this year for a last run.

If the Lakers are able to pull off the deal to get Kings big man DeMarcus Cousins to dominate inside, then there is no need for the defensively challenged Okafor.

While there will be foreign players tonight, and guys with future potential who did not develop it in college, we want to give a special shout-out to the 40 players who were both great college players (in the top 5% of all players in college basketball this year) and can legitimately be good pros as well. They are listed by school.

Great 2015 Season at:	Player	Class	Value Add	Conf	2015 Rank
Arizona	Hollis-Jefferson, Rondae 23	2 So	6.21	P12	81
Arizona	Johnson, Stanley 5	1 Fr	5.93	P12	103
Arkansas	Portis, Bobby 10	2 So	7.91	SEC	19
Boston College	Hanlan, Olivier 21	3 Jr	5.61	ACC	118
Bowling Green	Holmes, Richaun 22	4 Sr	4.9	MAC	179
Duke	Jones, Tyus 5	1 Fr	8.11	ACC	15
Duke	Okafor, Jahlil 15	1 Fr	7.78	ACC	21
Duke	Winslow, Justise 12	1 Fr	7.18	ACC	39
Georgia St.	Hunter, R.J. 22	3 Jr	7.58	SB	25
Iowa	White, Aaron 30	4 Sr	9.41	B10	6
Kansas	Oubre, Kelly 12	1 Fr	5.35	B12	130
Kentucky	Booker, Devin 1	1 Fr	6.93	SEC	49
Kentucky	Cauley-Stein, Willie 15	3 Jr	8.48	SEC	10
Kentucky	Harrison, Andrew 5	2 So	6.86	SEC	53
Kentucky	Johnson, Dakari 44	2 So	5.14	SEC	146
Kentucky	Lyles, Trey 41	1 Fr	6.71	SEC	59
Kentucky	Towns, Karl-Anthony 12	1 Fr	11.39	SEC	2
Louisiana St.	Martin, Jarell 1	2 So	6	SEC	95
Louisville	Harrell, Montrezl 24	3 Jr	7.52	ACC	27
Louisville	Rozier, Terry 0	2 So	7.39	ACC	31
Michigan St.	Trice, Travis 20	4 Sr	5.91	B10	105
Murray St.	Payne, Cameron 1	2 So	7.92	OVC	18
Nevada Las Vegas	Wood, Christian 5	2 So	4.77	MWC	196
Notre Dame	Connaughton, Pat 24	4 Sr	6.27	ACC	75
Notre Dame	Grant, Jerian 22	4 Sr	9.41	ACC	5
Ohio St.	Russell, D’Angelo 0	1 Fr	8.41	B10	11
Oregon	Young, Joseph 3	4 Sr	6.72	P12	58
Stanford	Brown, Anthony 21	4 Sr	5.93	P12	102
Stanford	Randle, Chasson 5	4 Sr	6.88	P12	51
Syracuse	Christmas, Rakeem 25	4 Sr	7.25	ACC	37
Tennessee	Richardson, Josh 1	4 Sr	7.46	SEC	30
Texas	Turner, Myles 52	1 Fr	5.22	B12	140
UCLA	Looney, Kevon 5	1 Fr	6.16	P12	84
UCLA	Powell, Norman 4	4 Sr	5.5	P12	123
Utah	Wright, Delon 55	4 Sr	11.88	P12	1
Virginia	Anderson, Justin 1	3 Jr	5.15	ACC	145
Virginia Commonwealth	Graham, Treveon 21	4 Sr	5.3	A10	134
Wisconsin	Dekker, Sam 15	3 Jr	7.1	B10	43
Wisconsin	Kaminsky, Frank 44	4 Sr	11.09	B10	3
Wyoming	Nance, Larry 22	4 Sr	4.78	MWC	195