Written By Zachary Bennett
Recently, I explained why Jahlil Okafor would be a good fit for the Minnesota Timberwolves. At the time of that writing murmurs amidst those closely following the organization implied Wolves president-coach Flip Saunders prefered Okafor to other coveted amateurs, such as D’Angelo Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns. However, things may have changed.
“Saunders, who had been leaning toward Okafor,” writes Forbes’ Mark Heisler, “is said to have turned pro-Towns after seeing him last week in Los Angeles.”
“There’s no doubt,” says the NBA Insider cited by Heisler, “the T-Wolves are taking Towns.”
Although anonymous sources don’t always state undeniable facts, I think it would only be fair to profile Towns, or anyone else who may reach the top of Saunders’ bigboard.
(Author’s Note: If the narrative changes between now and the draft, and the Wolves lean toward taking, say, Kristaps Porzingis or D’Angelo Russell, content should be produced accordingly.)
***
First and foremost, assessing Kentucky prospects is difficult because there were a handful of incredibly talented players on the roster last season. So many, in fact, that John Calipari seemingly distributed minutes amongst them as if he were the coach of a middle school rec-league team. While the three other Final Four participants — Duke (3), Wisconsin (4) and Michigan State (3) — had at least three players average more than 30 minutes per game, no Kentucky player averaged more than 26 minutes per game (MPG), including Towns (21.1 MPG).
Additionally, the impeccable depth allowed recruits to fearlessly and aggressively attempt steals, blocks and impact plays with Calipari’s blessing. This may explain why Towns fouled out six times despite a relatively small workload, or it might not — more on this later.
Platoon system notwithstanding, Towns led Kentucky in blocks and rebounds last season, and scored more points than nearly all of his teammates. He finished only 29 points shy of Aaron Harrison, who played almost 200 more minutes than Towns. Yes, this production is impressive, but it came thanks in large part to the presence of Willie Cauley-Stein, a 2015 consensus All-American, one of the best defensive players in the country and a projected top-10 pick in the upcoming draft.
As a sophomore, Cauley-Stein was the sole anchor of Kentucky’s defense, leading his team in steals (44) and blocked shots (106). By comparison, Julius Randle, taken by the Los Angeles Lakers at No. 7 in the 2014 NBA Draft, finished second in blocked shots that season with 31. “Simply put,” writes Joseph Gill, “Cauley-Stein’s production was the entire summation of Kentucky’s interior defense for the 2013-14 season, despite only playing 24 minutes a night.”
Defensively, Towns and Cauley-Stein became the most imposing forward-center tandem in the country in 2014-15 by a very, very wide margin. Statistics won’t reflect this, however, because of Calipari’s frequent substitutions, so the duo essentially shared the glory.
In short, Cauley-Stein and the platoon system are simply variables to consider during an assessment of Towns, rather than significant detriments to his value as a prospect.
Towns will likely be bestowed a much larger workload in the NBA and won’t have the luxury of playing beside a dominant rim-protector, at least not right away.
***
Defense
If Towns is to make immediate contributions at the NBA level, any noteworthy production will likely occur at the defensive end at the floor. Still, certain skills must be refined before dubbing him an exemplary defender.
Towns was noticeably susceptible to pump fakes, a proclivity that may have been influenced by the aforementioned platooning philosophy, and had a tendency to place his hands on opponents when defending away from the basket. NBA players may look to get physical with him at both ends of the floor in order to expose these weaknesses, as he does not appear inclined to either initiate or embrace contact on either end of the floor.
As a result of such bad habits, over the span of 822 minutes, Towns fouled out of six contests and committed 115 personal fouls during his freshmen year. Comparatively, he played 190 minutes less than Cauley-Stein, but was whistled for 37 more personals fouls. Towns’ 5.7 fouls per-40 minutes was the third highest rate among prospects ranked at DraftExpress — this is not a good thing.
Once leaving his feet, Nemanja Djurisic, a savvy player, draws contact and heads to the line for two free throws. There is no reason for Towns — the help defender — to leave his feet on this possession, at least not when he did.
Towns shouldn’t involve himself in this play — the shot is already well contested. These type of poor decisions add up, and that’s how one ends up in foul trouble.
Towns commits a foul on this possession while hoping to deny a post-up opportunity for Yante Maten, a freshman weighing 240 pounds and standing 6-foot-8. Towns needn’t aggressively deny the Maten a post-up opportunity because his size advantage should make contesting shots relatively easy. He can’t wrap his hands — both of them — around Maten like that because he’ll get called for it every time.
Working hard to deny an entry pass to Djurisic, Towns gets too touchy-feely on this possession.
(An official, coach or spectator can be heard on the broadcast yelling “hands.”) He’s called for the foul after pushing Djurisic on the hip, although there is plenty of contact before that. One could argue the officials probably could have let them play and not called anything, however, because Towns is known to commit these type of violations, whistle blowers will be looking for this during the game.
As far as strengths go, Towns is unusually versatile, large and lengthy enough to defend centers while graceful enough to mark playmaking-forwards (stretch-4’s) and quicker guards. Towns presents good instincts, takes pride in protecting the rim and knows his function in pick-and-roll situations, all of which are impressive qualities considering his age, size and stature.
Here, Arkansas initiates the offense by screening Harrison at the top of the key. Towns steps in front of Rashad Madden, preventing dribble-penetration and allows Harrison to recover. Knowing the Arkansas screener is not prone to hoisting 3-pointers (Bobby Portis ‘14-’15: 30 3pt FGA) Towns alertly remains in the lane, keeping an eye on Madden, before blocking the layup attempt.
Above is another pick-and-roll situation — known as a Side P&R — this time against Georgia. Towns doesn’t hedge and instead meets the ball-handler (Charles Mann) on the 3-point line, ready to contest an outside shot. Mann elects not to launch a jumper and slows up a little, allowing Towns to backpedal into the lane (as he’s supposed to do) and get within an arm-length of his original mark, Yante Maten. Mann, while watching Towns drop down toward the basket, drives the lane and attempts to float the ball into the hoop.
Keenly watching the P&R unfold, Towns easily swats the floater away.
Here’s a closer look at the exciting part.
Offense
Although Towns’ movement appears seamless, his mobility and explosiveness is hindered by abnormally large feet. He isn’t freakishly athletic, despite what some may think, and is actually somewhat ponderous on the offensive end. Towns struggled against stronger opponents, doesn’t sport an array of post moves and committed turnovers at a relatively high rate while at Kentucky.
Below you’ll see what Kentucky’s opponents often did trying to prevent Towns from establishing position near the rim. Centers and forwards at the NBA level deal with this regularly.
When receiving the ball in the post, Towns tends to maneuver into the lane before performing what may possibly be his only post move, a hookshot. He could muscle and bully opponents in the college ranks with relative ease, but this will get harder at the next level.
Here, although Towns doesn’t establish very deep position on the low-block, he does a good job of spinning away from the double team. You’ll see his not-very-impressive leaping ability on display as he fails to release the jump-hook (his go-to move) attempt over a defender.
Below is another example from the same game.
On this possession, Towns doesn’t spin away from the double team and instead attempts to finish through contact. While this is good awareness, you’ll notice he isn’t able to elevate over the defense and complete what could have been an And-1 play.
Towns may not become a great low-post scorer at the NBA level, and he won’t need to be as long as he can score over undersized opponents. At Kentucky, he shot 51 percent on possessions defined as back to the basket situations, showing a soft touch and ability to finish around the basket.
As long as he’s able to draw defenses inward, Towns can be a serviceable post player. He has the presence of mind to make passes from the post out to the wing, where there should be more space available for perimeter players to either shoot or drive.
It appears obvious that Towns does not have any intent to score here, instead, he uses his long arms and shows good vision to make a pass to the near-corner — where Harrison knocks down a 3-pointer. Towns is can also make passes on the interior to other bigs, as shown below.
Towns is thought not as a dominant post presence, but rather a perimeter oriented forward/center who can hit the outside shot if need be. However, because of a recently released workout video, there is a common misconception that he is an adequate 3-point shooter. This has yet to be proven, as he attempted only eight 3’s during his freshman season.
Still, it’s easy to see that Towns is comfortable facing the basket in the high-post. He’s a good passer and a better ball handler than one would think just by looking at him.
After missing the initial attempt, Towns sticks with it and bodies out the smaller Thornton for the offensive rebound and goes right back up with the ball and finishes the possession with a made basket.
***
Towns has the physical attributes necessary of a prototypical NBA center, but evaluating his performance at the University of Kentucky is a considerably unique and somewhat complex task. He must work to become more of a powerful, physical presence as that will prove beneficial on both ends of the floor. Offensively, Towns have an easier time gaining position while defensively, gaining strength will help keep opponents away from the hoop.
If drafted by the Wolves, Towns will have that guy Kevin Garnett showing him the ropes, which would, in theory, help keep his progression on the right track.
***
Moreover, I encourage anyone reading this to heed the words of William Bohl, who simplifies the popular, ongoing debate among Wolves- and basketball-heads — Towns vs. Okafor — as a matter of preference. Okafor is already a potent, polished offensive talent; Towns is poised to become an impact player defensively. These alluring candidates possess skills that, though dissimilar, should help the Wolves improve next season, and fans should be content with either player — a point Cold Omaha reinforced on-air last Sunday.
Zachary Bennett isn’t sure if he should be writing in the third person. He’s a contributor to Cold Omaha, covering the St. Paul Saints, Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx. Bennett can also be found at Canis Hoopus and Hardwood Paroxysm.