Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
Towns Says He Has No Preference Between Wolves, Lakers; Working on Interview Schedule
Karl-Anthony Towns says he has no preference between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Los Angeles Lakers, the teams picking first and second in the NBA Draft.
Towns is projected to go No. 1 to the Wolves by DraftExpress.com and many other mock drafts, with Duke’s Jahlil Okafor at No. 2 to the Lakers.
“No, no, the biggest thing is as a little kid you always want to just be part of the NBA, the greatest fraternity in the world,” the former Kentucky and St. Joe’s-Metuchen big man told Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com in the interview below in Los Angeles. “That’s all I want to do. I just want to be able to have my name play in the NBA and be able to wear a jersey with my name on the back. That’s the biggest thing, I don’t care where I play. I could play anywhere. As long as I have a home, I can’t wait to play for that home.”
Towns has been working out in L.A. for several weeks with former UCLA star Don MacLean, who has raved about Towns’ upside.
Fellow Kentucky big men Willie Cauley-Stein and Dakari Johnson have also worked out with MacLean, as has Ohio State guard D’Angelo Russell, the projected No. 3 pick.
Towns, who is repped by Leon Rose of CAA, says he’s trying to finalize a schedule for interviews with teams.
“Right now just trying to get the schedule together,” he said. “I just want to go out there and just try to do as much things as I possibly could do and just hopefully on June 25th I could find a home.”
Sources told SNY.tv that Towns will only interview with the Wolves and Lakers and won’t work out, but Towns, true to his nature, is so confident in his abilities he says he would like to work out if necessary.
“I think that you need to do both,” he said. “Everything’s different when you see a workout on tape, you need to be able to see it in person. You need to do both, I think that’s the biggest thing. I’m just trying to find a schedule where everything could work. It’s coming down to the wire now, we’re almost getting to the month of June so just need to get it together right now.”
One NBA scout said it might not make sense for Towns to work out for teams.
“His agent may think that NBA teams have seen him enough this year,” the scout said. “Plus, he is not going to work out against anyone.”
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
Karl-Anthony Towns says he has no preference between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Los Angeles Lakers, the teams picking first and second in the NBA Draft.
Towns is projected to go No. 1 to the Wolves by DraftExpress.com and many other mock drafts, with Duke’s Jahlil Okafor at No. 2 to the Lakers.
“No, no, the biggest thing is as a little kid you always want to just be part of the NBA, the greatest fraternity in the world,” the former Kentucky and St. Joe’s-Metuchen big man told Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com in the interview below in Los Angeles. “That’s all I want to do. I just want to be able to have my name play in the NBA and be able to wear a jersey with my name on the back. That’s the biggest thing, I don’t care where I play. I could play anywhere. As long as I have a home, I can’t wait to play for that home.”
Towns has been working out in L.A. for several weeks with former UCLA star Don MacLean, who has raved about Towns’ upside.
Fellow Kentucky big men Willie Cauley-Stein and Dakari Johnson have also worked out with MacLean, as has Ohio State guard D’Angelo Russell, the projected No. 3 pick.
Towns, who is repped by Leon Rose of CAA, says he’s trying to finalize a schedule for interviews with teams.
“Right now just trying to get the schedule together,” he said. “I just want to go out there and just try to do as much things as I possibly could do and just hopefully on June 25th I could find a home.”
Sources told SNY.tv that Towns will only interview with the Wolves and Lakers and won’t work out, but Towns, true to his nature, is so confident in his abilities he says he would like to work out if necessary.
“I think that you need to do both,” he said. “Everything’s different when you see a workout on tape, you need to be able to see it in person. You need to do both, I think that’s the biggest thing. I’m just trying to find a schedule where everything could work. It’s coming down to the wire now, we’re almost getting to the month of June so just need to get it together right now.”
One NBA scout said it might not make sense for Towns to work out for teams.
“His agent may think that NBA teams have seen him enough this year,” the scout said. “Plus, he is not going to work out against anyone.”
