The Los Angeles Lakers are now close to bagging a top-5 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft with barely 10 games left in the schedule. Draft experts and scouts are expecting Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchack to evaluate every available prospect, including Kentucky Wildcats big man Karl-Anthony Towns, whose game resembles the style of play of another former purple-and-gold big man - Andrew Bynum.
In a recent article on the Los Angeles Times, Towns, the blue-chip recruit of John Calipari's Kentucky big blue machine, is being compared to another Metuchen (N.J.) St. Joseph product and former Lakers big man Andrew Bynum.
Bynum, who spent seven seasons with the Lakers and helped the franchise win their last two NBA championship before he was traded to the Sixers in a blockbuster four-team trade in 2012, possessed a rare package of mid-range jumper, deft touch around the basket and incredible defensive upside when motivated.
However, after becoming an All-Star and eventual trade to Sixers in 2012, Bynum was never the same again as he succumbed to chronic knee problem that put him out of the league this season. Bynum's immaturity and questionable work ethic were blamed as the main factors to his fast decline. For St. Joseph athletic director Joseph Smith, Towns' already mature mindset is what separates himself from his man-child predecessor that is Bynum.
"Karl is way better than Bynum," Smith told the Los Angeles Times. "I don't want to talk negative about [Bynum] but there's no comparison whatsoever. This kid works, this kid is really the total package. He's one in a million. Everything I say to you, you won't believe."
The 19-year old Towns indeed showed great poise as the anchor of the Wildcats, whose ambitious mission to end the season without loss has even molded the young big man to become a leader on the court at such a tender age.
Like Bynum, Towns has been an unstoppable offensive force in the middle, outclassing his opponents with variation of post-up moves and solid mid-range jumpers. Both talented seven-footers with incredibly high ceiling, but his intangibles might be Towns' ticket to a longer NBA career Bynum wishes he would have.
In the 2015 NBA Draft, the Lakers will have a chance to scrutinize Anthony-Towns. Bynum played a big role for the Lakers in their previous championship runs despite drawing the ire of then head coach Phil Jackson. The Lakers, on the other hand, will try to determine between now and draft night if Towns could play an even a bigger role for them in the future.