Russell has missed two of the Lakers’ last three games with soreness in his knee, but the second-year point guard had thought it wasn’t a serious injury. He will be re-evaluated next week before the Lakers decide how long he will sit.

Russell only missed two games last season as a rookie. He is second on the revitalized Lakers with 16.1 points per game, and he leads the team with 4.8 assists.

”Disappointing because we’ll definitely miss that but more as we continue to try to build something and now he’s not out there being part of that, he’s not learning and building the trust that you’re trying to get when players are together for a long time,” first-year coach Luke Walton said before his team faced the familiar Golden State Warriors. ”He misses a couple weeks of that, but yeah we’ll definitely miss what he’s been doing for us so far this year.”

Walton said he is unsure how long Russell has been in pain, but it did get worse. Russell’s injury caught the coach off guard because he was limping at practice and not running well, so he was taken out.

Walton said he ”likes to keep it pretty positive,” and isn’t yet concerned about Russell potentially needing surgery.

”They tell me they think this is going to help get him to get him back out there, then I’m going with the belief that in two weeks he’ll be ready to play again,” Walton said.

Jose Calderon moved into the starting lineup against the Warriors in Walton’s return to Oracle Arena to face the team he helped coach to a runner-up finish in the NBA Finals last season. Calderon also started the two previous games Russell missed. The veteran Spanish guard scored a season-high 12 points in the Lakers’ 111-109 victory over Oklahoma City on Tuesday night.

In addition, forward Julius Randle was out with a hip pointer. He tried to play through it Tuesday.

”Obviously he didn’t look like the same that he’s been the last couple games before that,” Walton said. ”Pretty painful every time he cuts or tries to make a basketball move, so we’re going to sit him out tonight and try to get him back soon, too.”

—

AP Sports Writer Greg Beacham in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

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The Los Angeles Lakers tabbed their next potential superstar in D’Angelo Russell. The New York Knicks landed a pair of players in the first round, selecting Kristaps Porzingis and later acquiring the rights to Notre Dame guard Jerian Grant.

Both teams are coming off their worst seasons in their histories and hoping the turnarounds started Thursday.

Russell is ready to do his part.

”I’m here, and I’m ready to make an impact right away,” the Ohio State point guard said.

A little surprised to go second after Duke center Jahlil Okafor had long been considered the player at that spot, Russell received big cheers when Commissioner Adam Silver called his name.

The boos were loud and long two picks later when the Knicks took the 19-year-old Latvian forward. But the announcement of the Grant trade had New York fans who packed Brooklyn’s Barclays Center roaring in approval of Phil Jackson’s moves.

Porzingis had said repeatedly he hoped to be picked by the Knicks – including to Grant.

”I kind of smiled and laughed and shook my head, not realizing that I’d be his teammate a few hours later,” Grant said.

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Some highlights, and lowlights, from Thursday night’s NBA draft:

HOW `BOUT THOSE T’WOLVES! Give the Timberwolves credit. No, NBA insiders haven’t been able to say that in a while. But drafting Karl-Anthony Towns and swinging a trade for Minnesota native Tyus Jones out of Duke to line up with Andrew Wiggins and the Timberwolves deserve an A+ for their draft efforts. The venerable Kevin Garnett might be around to see another playoff run, something that hasn’t happened in 11 years.

KENTUCKY 6: It was a good night for five of the seven Kentucky players who entered the NBA draft. But not for the Harrisons. Andrew was picked late in the second round, but he probably couldn’t celebrate – at least not like he wanted. His twin brother Aaron went undrafted. The twins were the backcourt that led the Wildcats to a 38-1 record and trip to the Final Four. The Wildcats would have set a record with seven selections had both brothers been picked.

MULTIPLE MEN: With Jahlil Okafor, Justise Winslow and Tyus Jones, Duke has had at least two players picked in five straight drafts. National player of the year Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker gave national runner-up Wisconsin multiple selections for the first time since 1995 (Michael Finley and Rashard Griffith).

THE `TRILL’: Moziah Bridges, 13, is used to the bright lights. The teen makes and sells bow ties, appearing on ”Shark Tank” last year in search of investors. He now runs a $200,000 company and was especially pleased that No. 6 pick Willie Cauley-Stein donned one of his creations for the draft. Bridges names each design and may just go with Cauley-Stein’s nickname ”Trill” for the blue-and-white polka dot creation debuted on draft day.

SO CAVALIER: Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle is a proud Virginia alum. And he let everyone know it when he stepped to the podium in Dallas to announce the No. 21 pick in the first round. ”So we’re really happy we got a chance to draft Justin Anderson from the 2015 NCAA College World Series champion Virginia Cavaliers,” Carlisle said, with a slight smile. Virginia won its first baseball title in Omaha, Nebraska. Carlisle said he didn’t think there was much of a scouting advantage for him on the 6-foot-6 Anderson, ”He’s just a real sincere, authentic kid,” the coach said. And besides, ”Obviously comes from a great institution, well-educated.”

—

AP Sports Writer Schuyler Dixon in Dallas contributed to this report.

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8:10 p.m.

Well, that didn’t take long.

The Lakers pulled off the first surprise, albeit a somewhat mild one, and went small with D’Angelo Russell out of Ohio State, arguably the most dynamic player available. He’s not short on wattage, either. Good thing, since he’ll be cast as the understudy to LA’s current star, 37-year-old Kobe Bryant.

That opened the door for Philadelphia to grab the draft’s other consensus talented big man, Jahlil Okafor out of Duke. Never mind that the 76ers already have two big men in need of minutes – Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel – and a third, Dario Saric, stashed in Europe until 2016.

Philadelphia general manager Sam Hinkie has a reputation for being unconventional. But this time, he took the best player available.

—

7:46 p.m.

The NBA draft does not have a real catwalk. It’s hard to make a fashion statement while strolling across the stage to shake Commissioner Adam Silver’s hand and put on a ball cap.

But that has not dissuaded a handful of just-minted millionaires from trying.

Karl-Anthony Towns told Women’s Wear Daily this about his zig-zag blazer with black leather-accented lapels: ”For me, it’s not about the designer, it’s more about the look. At the end of the day, I’m just trying to wear clothes that make me look good.”

Mission accomplished.

If you like TV test patterns.

—

7:37 p.m.

The Timberwolves surprised exactly no one by making Karl-Anthony Towns the No. 1 pick. They were the only team he worked out for.

Towns was asked about the club so many times on TV shows last week it seemed like he was promoting a sitcom.

One day Towns said how he was looking forward to being tutored by Kevin Garnett, the Timberwolves’ aging star. A day later, an ESPN tour revealed that the locker next to Garnett’s in the team’s shiny new downtown practice facility has already been reserved for the team’s No. 1 pick. The only thing missing was a torch to pass between them.

Towns is a quick learner, too. The son of a high school coach was practicing with the junior varsity while still in grade school.

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7:15 p.m.

Red, or some shade of it, appears to be the ”in” color this year.

So much so that the green room at the NBA draft is starting to look like a Vegas card table. There was Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russell in Buckeye red … er scarlet. Jahlil Okafor and Kristaps Porzingis went with maroon.

The other dominant look around the Barclays Center is blue – that of the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers. Knicks fans filled the plaza outside the arena a couple of hours before the start. The draft used to be held inside Madison Square Garden, and at times Thursday it looked like it still was.

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6:30 p.m.

New Magic coach Scott Skiles is already working the media, with an assist from his wife, Kim.

When members of the media arrived for the draft night they found a tray with homemade cookies from the Skiles.

The cookies were wrapped with basketball print ribbon and two tags: ”From the Kitchen of Kim Skiles” and ”A Gift From Kim and Scott.”

Well played, coach. Well played.

The Magic are slated to pick fifth and 51st tonight and has lots of needs to fill. The coach has already taken care of buttering up the reporters.

– Kyle Hightower in Orlando, Florida

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6:15 p.m.

BIG.

Then little.

That’s as good a guess as any about how tonight’s NBA draft will unfold. A consensus of scouts and draftniks expect the top two picks will be 6-foot-11 Karl-Anthony Towns, by Minnesota, and then 6-11 Jahlil Okafor, by Los Angeles, when things get started in about 75 minutes.

The last time two low-post players went 1-2 was 23 years ago, when Shaquille O’Neal and Alonzo Mourning topped the 1992 board. Attribute that to either a scarcity of good big men over the past two decades, or a growing sentiment among the league’s front offices that ”small ball” – relying on quick, spot-up shooters and versatile wing players at the expense of traditional centers – is the way to win championships.

Just don’t be surprised if the tide turns after Towns’ selection.

There’s more than a few last-minute trade scenarios swirling around along with a bounty of intriguing guard prospects fronted by D’Angelo Russell and Emmanuel Mudiay, who played in China last year.

—

Litke contributed from Chicago; AP Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney contributed to this report in New York.

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