Many basketball observers, though, believe Minnesota would be making a mistake by taking Towns instead of Jahlil Okafor, and the Duke prospect is available at 4-to-1 odds to be the top overall pick.
The Lakers seem to be the most likely landing spot for Okafor, but if you want to take a shot against L.A. selecting him with the No. 2 pick, you can get 7-to-2 odds on your money.
The 76ers have the No. 3 pick, and it’s a virtual coin-flip if they’ll select Ohio State freshman D’Angelo Russell or Kristaps Porzingis, a Latvian stretch-four type. For what it’s worth, Russell has denied reports he’s not interested in playing in Philly, and one scout has claimed Porzingis is better than Towns.
Mock drafts: Sporting News’ current edition | The common sense mock
Other players generating buzz ahead of Thursday include: Duke forward Justise Winslow; Emmanuel Mudiay, who played in China last season after being ruled ineligible to play for Larry Brown at SMU; NCAA player of the year Frank Kaminsky; and Willie Cauley-Stein, Towns’ front-court mate at Kentucky whose stress fracture has caused concern among NBA teams.
We have numbers on all of these guys on our mock oddsboard below:
2015 NBA DRAFT ODDS*
Who will be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft? Karl-Anthony Towns -1200 Jahlil Okafor 4/1 Kristaps Porzingis 25/1 D’Angelo Russell 40/1 Field 35/1
Who will the Lakers select with the No. 2 overall pick* Jahlil Okafor -400 Field +350*Lakers must pick second overall for action
Who will 76ers select with No. 3 overall pick? D’Angelo Russell +110 Kristaps Porzingis -130 Field +850*76ers must pick third overall for action
Draft position OVER/UNDER
Justise Winslow: OVER 6 (-105) Justise Winslow: UNDER 6 (-115)
Emmanuel Mudiay: OVER 6 (+110) Emmanuel Mudiay: UNDER 6 (-130)
Willie Cauley-Stein: OVER 9 (-120) Willie Cauley-Stein: UNDER 9 (even-money)
Frank Kaminsky: OVER 13 (-110) Frank Kaminsky: UNDER 13 (-110)
*Wagering on the NBA Draft is not allowed in Las Vegas. The numbers here were compiled using odds from several offshore betting sites and mock draft from around the internet.
