TMZ.com reporters caught Karl-Anthony Towns meeting up with fellow Kentucky alum and current Los Angeles Lakers power forward Julius Randle in Los Angeles for lunch. While it's well-known that Towns is in LA working out and preparing for the draft on June 25th, seeing him meet up with a Lakers player will certainly help fuel the Towns-to-LA fire.
Here's the video of him strolling through Beverly Hills:
It's interesting to hear Karl-Anthony say he would love to play with Kobe Bryant only a few weeks after Bucks forward Jared Dudley stated that "most guys don't want to play with Kobe." Towns stated several times that Bryant is a "legend," and that "everyone wants to play with a legend," which isn't surprising since the current crop of draft prospects grew up during the glory days of Kobe's career.
It does have to be mentioned that Towns has repeatedly stated that he will play basketball anywhere and won't try to force his way to any particular team. TMZ's reporter mentions the rumors that Jahlil Okafor will tell the Wolves that he doesn't want to play for them and asks if that would upset Towns because it could cause Minnesota to draft him, but the Kentucky big man still maintained where he plays does not matter to him.
While most Lakers fans are hopeful Towns will still be available when the Lakers pick comes up, most draft boards do have Minnesota selecting him with the first overall pick, although it certainly doesn't hurt that Towns has a friend already entrenched in LA in Julius Randle. We know Randle is hoping that Towns ends up in a Lakers jersey.
June 25th can't come fast enough.