Western Rumors: Lakers, Russell, Warriors

League sources tell Jake Fischer of SI (on Twitter) that the Lakers were always going to select whoever was available between Karl Towns and Jahlil Okafor at No. 2.  The guards they worked out, like D’Angelo Russell, were only brought in as a smokescreen, according to those sources.  However, with so much talk about Russell being the pick at No. 2 today, it’s hard to say what their intentions are. Here’s more from the West on one of the NBA calendar’s craziest days..

• Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group (on Twitter) heard that one team’s asking price to take David Lee‘s contract off the Warriors‘ hands was Harrison Barnes and the No. 30 pick.  As Thompson writes, Warriors management probably laughed that offer off.
• At this stage, the Warriors are not working to move Lee’s contract, Jake Fischer of SI tweets.  At this point, their looking to move up in the first round, though it’s not clear who their target is.  The Warriors own the No. 30 pick in the draft.
• Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak will have the final say on what the team does with the pick, assuming they keep it, according to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times, who spoke with a person familiar with the situation.   The GM will receive input from team executive Jim Buss, Lakers scouting director Jesse Buss, and other scouts, but the last call will be his.
• The Timberwolves are looking to acquire an additional first-round pick, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).
• The Rockets have had trade discussions with the Timberwolves, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets.  Houston likes Ricky Rubio, but Wolfson says that it’s hard to see a match there.  However, if the Wolves do move to No. 18, Tyus Jones is probably atop their target list (link).  Meanwhile, there have been no talks yet between the Wolves and Mavs, who own the No. 21 pick (link).
• The Blazers have internally discussed options to grab Kristaps Porzingis since his ASM pro day, Jake Fischer of SI tweets.