First, another bit of NBA history. The last time I've heard of a Draft that had its first two teams pickup centers was in 1984. The Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers, both drafting on need, picked up who they thought were the best pivot men prospects at the time. The Rockets drafted Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon first overall. The Blazers, snatched up "the best available big," and drafted Sam Bowie at number two. The Chicago Bulls, took a guard with its third pick. Someone named Michael Jordan.  Well, we all know how that turned out.

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Before we go any further, we have to consider that during that time, all the rage was landing the dominant big man, whether for offense or defense. The Bill Russells, Wilt Chamberlains, Kareem Abdul Jabbars, Robert Parishes, and Moses Malones were what the era demanded. But the NBA landscape has changed since then. Ever since Steve Nash and his "7-seconds or less" offense won back-to-back MVPs 10 years ago, there has been high demand for guards that can slash into the teeth of the defense, play in transition, and hit the three. The "bigs" have been relegated to what they now call a "stretch four."

Fast forward to 2015, and the Minnesota Timberwolves (#1) and the Los Angeles Lakers (#2) are presented a similar dilemma, of course with the benefit of hindsight. Projected to go 1 and 2 are centers Karl-Anthony Towns and Jahlil Okafor.  But after them are the draft's top two guards - D'Angelo Russell and Emmanuel Mudiay. Let's take a peek at what they can offer, shall we?

Russell is a 6'5" freshman guard who played for the Ohio State Buckeyes averaging 19.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 5 assists. He has been touted as a top-tier talent with the size and skill to play both guard positions in the NBA. He is considered a good shooter, a good rebounder, and an above average distributor. Basketball Insders have noted that his strengths are his high basketball IQ and toughness. Some of his highlights were a game against Penn State where he single handedly brought his team back from a deficit to win by 10,  and against VCU where he got cut open above his eye, got stitches, and led the team by scoring 28 points. NBA scouts have compared him to the pre-knee injury version of Brandon Roy.

He may not be the best athlete on the floor, but he does make up for it by intelligently using his skills to exploit match-ups. It has also been reported by ProBasketBallTalk.Com that Wolves president Flip Saunders may actually consider drafting Russell at No. 1, and, with the right trade, move Ricky Rubio for some cornerstone pieces.

Emmanuel Mudiay, on the other hand, is a dynamic physical specimen. Unlike Russell, the Congolese-American elected to play overseas with the Chinese Basketball Association's Guangdong Southern Tigers instead of the NCAA. His skills were on full display as he averaged 18.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 6.3 assists in nine games before going down with an ankle injury according to BleacherReport.Com. He has elite playmaking, ball-handling, and passing skills. He can easily get to the rim by breaking down opponents, or he can leave them flat-footed with his acceleration and agility. Scouts have declared Mudiay, a player that has drawn John Wall comparisons, as the one with the "highest ceiling" over anyone in the draft. However, he should improve his outside shooting (34%), free throw shooting (57%), and control his turnovers if he wants to excel in the next level.

It's safe to say that, if Towns and Okafor were not part of this draft or if they were not seven-footers, these two could easily go No. 1 and No. 2. Instead, the Wolves and the Lakers are torn on not just two, but four difficult options to choose from on June 25.

Do they pair their Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Clarkson with either of these guards and duplicate the "Splash Brothers" that has worked so well for the Golden State Warriors? Or do they follow the NBA blueprint of old and pair their guards with a big man to make an inside-outside combo comparable to Shaquille O'neal and Kobe Bryant? Whatever they do, trust these teams to conduct their utmost due diligence, because the last thing they would want to see is a repeat of the 1984 NBA Draft. 

TagsD'Angelo Russell, Emmanuel Mudiay, Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers, cba, Guangdong Tigers, Hakeem Olajuwon, Sam Bowie, Michael Jordan, Golden State Warriors, shaquille o'neal