Okafor put up some good stats, but I'm becoming much more comfortable with the Lakers taking D-Russ over him. I'm not too confident in how much his defense and rebounding will improve and the league is moving in a direction where a) defense at the 5 position is vital and b) all offense/no defense big men who can't really spread the floor (like Al Jefferson or Enes Kanter who can't spread the floor are so easily neutralized by the great teams and, depending on matchups, can be rendered virtually unplayable.
I actually really like Russel too, just question his consistency at this stage.
and we'll have to see what happens with Oak. comparing him to Al Jefferson and Enes Kanter is fine, but none of them have the post move ability that Okafor has. Also Okafor is 20 with a lot of baby fat. This guy literally warrants a double team in practically every game. We will have too see if he gets used to it or not, but ive seen Okafor just absolutely dominate teams all by himself on the offensive end. Its really an issue with how in shape he is in. He has to get in much better shape next year.
but yeah, Al Jeff and Kanter have nowhere near the offensive ability of Okafor when they were his age. Its going to be tough to gauge him because I honestly think the best way to beat the Dubs is with a super long and athletic teams (Bucks are a prime example and gave them 2 really tough games) which okafor is not. But then again, if Okafor gets some shooters on his team and can easily pass out of double teams, then his offensive potential can be nasty
http://nyloncalculus.com/2016/03/02/jahlil-okafor-and-defensive-improvement/
I would be far less optimistic that he can 'fix' his defense and rebounding issue.
As for offensive repertoire, I would have agreed with you if you said offensive post moves, but offensive repertoire? Towns absolutely crushes him.
Towns is a better passer, a better shooter, a better driver, a better ball-habdler, and a better FT shooter. Moreover, Towns has some impressive guard-like moves. He isn't just a spot up shooter becuase he e has a fadewawy and a step-back jumper.
What Okafor has over Towns is post moves because Towns only really has a left and right hook-shot. But does that really matter if that left and right hook shot work really really well? Towns actually is scoring at a higher precentage within 10 feet than Okafor.
It's going to be interesting to see how Okafor develops his defense. It doesnt help him that his guards, Ish Smith and Nik Stauskas, are terrible defenders. Stauskas literally goves up so many dribble drives
But Okafor looks like he has a childs body out there. I wouldnt consider it poor conditioning, but the dude is 2 years out of high school, still has a lot of baby fat on him, and is a pretty huge guy. Its going to take a while for him to get in shape. Defense is something which is mostly based around effort and knowledge. Okafor doesnt have the effort yet cause his conditioning is terrible. The IQ part will possibly come. Also, his rebounding stats arent really technically as bad as it looks. Nerlens is a horrid rebounder too, when Okafor is in the game compared to Noel, the sixers are a little bit better at rebounding percentage. Okafor doesnt get the stats, but he's decent at blocking out. Its really only been post ASB that the rebounding has gotten super bad, but I can also attribute that with playing on one of the NBAs worst teams. Its definately starting to get to these guys.
One of these 2 guys have to go at the ASB, Okafor's injury really puts the team in a bad position. His value has decreased unfortunately
