2015 NBA Draft: the best team fits for the top prospects

By Matt Moore | NBA writer

June 24, 2015 12:41 pm ET 

Karl-Anthony Towns: #1 MINNESOTA / #2 LAL  - NO #3 Phila / NO #4 NYK 

The Big KAT is going to end up with the Timberwolves most likely, and that's not a bad thing. The Wolves are a bit stocked down low, but Towns will clear out room for himself immediately. He'll also be paired with Andrew Wiggins, who can share the star-player burden, and there's also Ricky Rubio to find him for dunks and get him the ball.

The Lakers, though, would be perfect for Towns. An organization with a rich history of Hall-of-Fame big men, Towns would get to play next to Julius Randle, who would complement his skills perfectly, and learn from Kobe Bryant about what it takes to win. Towns would never worry about the team going into the luxury tax, or making moves to surround him with talent. Byron Scott would love him, and at the very least he'd get the ball all the time under Scott.

The Sixers would be a terrible fit for him, considering both their cold-hearted approach to development and star management and the presence of Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid. The idea is if the Sixers find a true star, they'll commit to him and take care of him, but you also can't control if they think you're that guy or not. Brett Brown would have been a great coach for Towns, especially defensively, but there's a reason a lot of players are wary of the Sixers' situation, even if their long-term future is starting to look bright.

Towns could actually handle the Knicks. He's good with the media, and the triangle offense would at least get him the ball consistently. He's one of the few guys Knicks fans wouldn't boo when they took him.

Jahlil Okafor:  #2 LAL - NO #3 Phila

The Lakers are a fine fit. I'm not sure it's great that he and Randle will be together considering Randle's lack of wingspan and Okafor's short vertical, but it's at least a talented duo down low. He'll get the ball and seems ready to handle the challenge. If he wants to get better defensively, he'll sink or swim alongside Bryant in practices.

The problems with the Sixers-Okafor fit are the same as they would be with Towns, but like Towns, Okafor would get plenty of touches if they trade Noel or Embiid to make room for him, and Brown could coach his defense up.

As for the Knicks -- man, would the Knicks be perfect for Okafor, who such a gifted passer that the triangle is tailor-made for him. He would execute so well in that kind of a situation and the Knicks could focus on finding a shot-blocking five to play next to him, while putting Melo at the high elbow in the standard triangle set. Then the Knicks just need to find a guard and somehow make the triangle offense work without elite talent for the first time in its entire existence and you've really got something!

So what would be a bad fit for Okafor? The Magic. They don't pick until No. 5 and it's highlu unlikely Okafor would fall that far, but if he did, Okafor and Vucevic playing their brand of defense -- or lack thereof -- alongside one another would give up roughly five points per possession, somehow.

D'Angelo Russell: 

Minnesota doesn't seem like the ideal fit on the surface, but the question is if you could play Russell at two next to Rubio. Then it gets interesting. Most people who watched Minnesota closely have real doubts about Zach LaVine long-term, and Rubio can't shoot. So why not put the best scoring guard in the draft next alongside Rubio and Wiggins, and just run the floor like mad men? The Wolves, again, are almost certainly taking Towns, but Russell would actually do a lot for them in a modern context. If, you know, Flip Saunders embraced the 3-pointer.

The Lakers are another great fit. Russell can essentially play the combo 2-guard with Kobe Bryant while also giving them someone who can run the team. There's value there, and Russell and Julius Randle in pick-and-roll situations could be deadly. Bryant would embrace Russell's competitiveness and the Lakers would have a star to take the reins when Kobe retires.

The Sixers dumped their star point guard (Michael Carter-Williams) last year after he won Rookie of the Year. The same could happen with Russell, but he might also be the star that Sam Hinkie has been so desperate to find. There's a good enough chance that Russell will be the best player in this draft. He could be a long-term fit for the Sixers and it doesn't muck up their frontcourt, even if Joel Embiid's health is a bigger issue than we know right now.

Oh, the triangle and New York. I've come around to the idea that Russell can work as the wing 2-guard in the triangle, playing combo guard, being able to break plays in the way that Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan did that made the triangle work so well. After initially believing he would be wasted in the largely antiquated system, I've come around to it. Are there enough shots for Russell and Melo? Well, that depends on if you think there are enough shots for Melo and anyone.

The Magic have Elfrid Payton and Victor Oladipo, but Russell is better than both. If Russell slips, the move is to draft Russell and trade Oladipo, and I say that with the belief that Oladipo has All-Star potential. Would Russell be best served in Orlando under Scott Skiles? That's a much rougher question. Put it this way, if Russell had his druthers, he'd undoubtedly take LA, and probably would take Minnesota and New York over Orlando.

Kristaps Porzingis:

If he could choose Minnesota, that might be the best place. He could play next to Gorgui Dieng and spread the floor, and he and Wiggins at the elbows would be purely terrifying. It gives him a small market environment -- one with a blossoming star in Wiggins -- where he could develop over time. 

The Lakers means a lot of pressure, and they're not nearly ready for the big time. He can't really play the five, so he and Randle aren't a great fit together. Kobe Bryant would annihilate his confidence in practice every day and Byron Scott would not want him shooting threes. Or jumpers. Or handling the ball. Or any of the things he is good at.

New York might not be bad, as well, though they could move him to the high elbow with Melo on the perimeter and then they just need to find a big man. He can block shots well enough to defend inside and help their rim protection, even if he's not a post defender. Elbow jumpers for days for the Latvian Dirk. However, beyond all this, Porzingis, who's going to need several years to come alive, should not have to go anywhere near New York media and the expectations that come with being the No. 4 pick in the draft for the Knicks. Expectations would be doom for a kid like this in that market.

If Philly takes Porzingis, he can go back and play in Europe for a few more years, so that's nice. Assuming he comes over, can he play the 3? Maybe, conceivably, if he kept the weight off and got really light on his feet. Or they can trade one of the two big guys. Or bring Porzingis off the bench. In the end, this just isn't a great fit.

I go round and round about the Magic. Scott Skiles' unimaginative offense doesn't seem like a wonderful fit. He could be a better Tobias Harris for them, but is he going to be good enough defensively to play with Nikola Vucevic? Porzingis is a shot-blocker, no question there. He would help their pick-and-roll defense by miles. And he would get time there, with a young core. But with Zingy and Vuc, you've got no one to defend in the post. That's worrisome. Plus, Orlando seems like a bit of a culture shock from where he's been.

Try and tell me any draft pick wants to go to Sacramento right now.

The Nuggets wouldn't be ideal, either. With Jusuf Nurkic on board, they have the 5 to play with him, and they have a Euro-friendly locker room with a soft media atmosphere that would mostly just ask him about the Broncos. But Danilo Gallinari is best as a small-ball 4, and Mike Malone also might be able to do some interesting things with his ball-handling abilities in the pick and roll. It's not perfect, but it works.

Justise Winslow: Winslow can fit anywhere. There's not a place that isn't ideal, unless it's New York, with Carmelo Anthony wanting to play the 3 instead of his more natural power forward position. Winslow fits with the Lakers as a guy who will help them win now. He fits with Minnesota as a defender two-guard creating insane length next to Wiggins. He fits with the Sixers as their capable athletic wing to bridge a gap to their bigs. He fits as a Lamar Odom-type in the triangle in New York. He fits as the Kings' answer at small forward and would do amazing things in the up-and-down 3s and layups system for George Karl, and he would be great as a super-long defender for Mike Malone at either the 2 or 3 in Denver.

Orlando's the only place that's not a fit for him. Aaron Gordon is simply not big enough to play the 4, but is good enough to need time at the 3, and Victor Oladipo is set at two-guard. Neither Winslow nor Gordon can play small-ball four effectively enough. Just not enough size.

One thing to consider: Winslow is a big-time athlete, smart, and will be looking to leverage his brand. He's got a good enough head on his shoulders to make the most of wherever he goes, but those teams that don't want their star to leave eventually would probably not be places high on his list.

Mario Hezonja: 

Big-time attitude needs a big-time market. Hezonja would feel right at home in LA or New York, and would legitimately come in brash enough to demand the ball from Carmelo Anthony. He'd be a quote machine for the New York media, and he fits in just fine in the wing triangle spot.

Minnesota's a bad fit with the kind of feel-good locker room it has going, plus he takes too many shots from Wiggins. The Wolves' defense would be great, but their offense would be clustered. And again, no threes from Saunders is an issue here.

With the Lakers, Kobe Bryant would leave practice the first day and say he's going to name his next child Mario, even if it's a girl. He'd love the kid's attitude and Hezonja can play the 3 well enough to make it work until Bryant retires. With Hezonja and Randle, you have some badasses on the floor. Byron Scott would enable him.

Hezonja would do fine with the Sixers, as well. They need wings and shooters and Hezonja is both. He wouldn't care about the constant threat of being traded because he would just think he'll be the best player on his next team. He and Noel in pick-and-pops would be pure destruction.

Hezonja would probably not put Sacramento first on his list, but George Karl could do some cool things with him. He's an upgrade over what they have at two guard now, which is actually pretty good. He gives them a go-to scorer and it looks like he won't have to worry about getting along with Boogie Cousins.

The Nuggets could also make this work. They need a star, are Euro-friendly, are big on Hezonja, and their up-and-down-with-defense approach fits all of his tick marks. The fans don't want a Euro, though, and the history of stars in Denver has not been great.

Quick hits:

Emmanuel Mudiay: 

The Lakers need a playmaking guard and have Bryant to get up shots (and after he retires they can find that elsewhere). He helps with their defense and would give them great length. He's a bad fit for the Knicks on multiple levels including the media destroying him for his lacking jumper -- a jumper that, incidentally, makes him a bad fit for the triangle. He might not start over the Magic's guards, so that's a non-starter, so to speak. If the Nuggets trade Ty Lawson, it works pretty well.

Willie Cauley-Stein: 

The Lakers, Knicks and Magic would all be a great fit for him. More in his range, he fits very well in Detroit as a twin tower next to Drummond, and Charlotte next to Al Jefferson (if he re-signs). Not so much Philly (crowded), Denver (altitude with the ankle injury), or the Heat. Orlando is a tremendous fit for him as he becomes the defensive force it needs next to Vucevic. It's really quite perfect.

Devon Booker: 

Tough fits for him in his range. The Pistons are high on him, but they already have Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and can he defend well enough to get time under Stan Van Gundy? The Hornets drafted P.J. Hairston last year but could still use a shooter, so he's not bad there. Miami might need a new 2-guard! The Pacers are a pretty natural fit since they need offense and could ease him in off the bench as a weapon. Boston's too crowded in the backcourt.

Frank Kaminsky: 

Putting Kaminsky and Jefferson together in Charlotte wouldn't be great, particularly defensively, and Kaminsky probably needs a situation where he has to do less and can develop more. Plus, if Noah Vonleh develops he has competition. Kaminsky in Detroit is just about perfect. Drummond covers for him defensively and Kaminsky can complement that with his scoring and floor-stretching abilities. He'd be great with Stan Van Gundy.

If he falls to Phoenix, that works decently enough as he can come off the bench behind the Morris twins and next to Alex Len.