The NBA draft results for the 2015 event saw Karl-Anthony Towns go number one overall to the Minnesota Timberwolves, while the top 5 had the Lakers taking D'Angelo Russell, the Sixers picking Jahlil Okafor while the NY Knicks took European big man Kristaps Porzingis ahead of the Magic selecting Mario Hezonja.
The first four picks of the draft had plenty of intrigue and the Lakers made the first major decision by taking Russell over Okafor. All offseason it looked like Towns and Okafor could go one-two, but the Lakers opted to take Russell. There was speculation that the Lakers would go after a DeMarcus Cousins trade using the second pick, but the team did not do that. The Lakers now have Russell as their star of the future and that left the Sixers almost no choice but to take Okafor.
The Knicks likely were crossing their fingers hard to see if the Sixers would take Porzingis so they could pick Okafor, but clearly that did not happen. Towns was basically considered the number one pick for weeks, so that was no surprise, but the pick of Russell set off a chain that brought the Knicks to Porzingis. The European big man has been picked by some scouts as the best player in the draft, but he likely needs some time to develop and the Knicks may be short on that in this regime.
The Orlando Magic took Hezonja ahead of the Kings taking Willie Cauley-Stein and that likely will keep the DeMarcus Cousins trade rumors going for a while. Stein and Cousins can work together and that could give the Kings a great front court, as Cousins is offensively strong and Stein is an ace defender. The Kings have been mentioned in numerous deals heading out of the draft, including with Ty Lawson from the Nuggets.
Denver picked Emmanuel Mudiay with the number seven pick in the draft and that should keep Lawson's name in rumors as well. Mudiay played in China and now he likely will be the starter if Lawson gets dealt. The Nuggets and Kings could work out a deal if George Karl remains as the head coach in Sacramento. The Detroit Pistons took Stanley Johnson with the eighth overall pick, while the Hornets took Frank Kaminsky out of Wisconsin at ninth overall.
The Miami Heat may have gotten the best value in the top 10, as they took Justise Winslow after he was predicted to be picked fourth by the Knicks. Winslow is one of the better all-around players in the draft and he should be a nice fit for Miami with Dwyane Wade and Goran Dragic if they return. The Pacers took Myles Turner, while the Utah Jazz took Trey Lyles with the 12th overall pick in the draft.
Devin Booker went next to the Phoenix Suns, while Cameron Payne was taken by the Oklahoma City Thunder. Payne and the Thunder were one of the earliest reports about the draft and that came to pass and now Payne will be the backup for Russell Westbrook. The Wizards have Kelly Oubre and he could help the team recruit Kevin Durant, while other notable names in the first round included Justin Anderson, Sam Dekker and Bobby Portis to the Bulls.
