But he did enough things well that Timberwolves fans don’t have to worry about Towns being the next Anthony Bennett. He finished with 12 points on 4-of-10 shooting with four assists, three rebounds, four turnovers and nine fouls – 10, not six, earns disqualification in the summer league, where quarters also run two minutes shorter – in 32 minutes.

Said the younger Towns: “I started to get more comfortable as the game went along”. Doug McDermott is a nice player, as is first-round pick Bobby Portis – who might be the most intense rookie in the 2015 class. But other than that, Chicago’s roster is pretty thin. “Just more mentally prepared, physically prepared, than I was a year ago”. So that was definitely different.

“You think I like it?” You’re already locked and loaded with plenty of youth and skill for the immediate and the future, so you may as well see just how strong the ammunition might just be.

Down the stretch, as the Wolves built their lead back up from a 56-56 tie at the end of the 3rd, the offense went through Towns on the inside as well as Adreian Payne and Othyus Jeffers. However, his passing was the eye-catching thing in his display. After a long and arduous rehab, Randle participated in an organized practice this week, his first since his injury, and is expected to play for the Lakers this Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Las Vegas Summer League. “He can really pass that ball”.

Having drawn comparisons to ex- Laker Lamar Odom, Randle seems to have all of the tools to be a star in this league, and he surely has the work ethic. “I feel great, getting up and down”, Randle said.

“He can pass the hell out of the ball”, Clarkson said. But that wasn’t the case. “I didn’t know him before….”

McDermott played in just two minutes and 51 seconds in the game and had a blank statline. The Thomas & Mack center was packed full of Lakers fans who, for the first time in a good while, had a cause worth cheering. Both Clarkson and Russell crashed the glass for a combined eight rebounds. He was filling the facilitator role the Lakers envision for him, and general manager Mitch Kupchak and coach Byron Scott, who were watching from the front row, appeared pleased by what they saw.

But both showed flashes of what they might do down the line, and got their first game out of the way. “It’s different, obviously. I’m not going to lie”.

It was a joy to watch LaVine play with a swagger that exuded the confidence he felt in himself.

Timberwolves assistant Ryan Saunders was among hundreds of spectators who couldn’t get into the 3,000-seat gym to see last year’s featured National Basteball Association Summer League matchup between the No. 1 and No. 2 picks in the 2014 draft, Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker.

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The Lakers are still in search for a backup big man in the center of their frontcourt, and one rumor that continues to float around is a potential trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers for Brendan Haywood. “That was a great atmosphere to have all that energy in the building”.