The Los Angeles Lakers have yet to find out where -- or if -- they'll be selecting in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft, but should they keep their top-3 protected pick, the team may use it to select Providence point guard Kris Dunn, a source told ESPN's Mark Spears.
The report suggests that the Lakers are "enamored" by the idea of a three-guard rotation of Dunn, D'Angelo Russell, and Jordan Clarkson.
Dunn, who averaged 16.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game in his sophomore season at Providence, is listed as DraftExpress' fourth-rated prospect. Therefore, selecting the 6-foot-3 guard would hardly be considered a reach, but it still would be somewhat surprising due to Russell and Clarkson's presence on the roster.
Frankly, the timing of this report is also strange and I wouldn't put too much thought into it. For one, the Lakers aren't even sure if they'll have a first-round pick in the draft, and two, L.A. very rarely leaks things like this. Remember when nearly every media outlet reported that the Lakers were likely to select Jahlil Okafor instead of D'Angelo Russell and the Lakers did the exact opposite? Not even Adrian Wojnarowski was able to get the scoop. So, I'd bet that no one outside of the Lakers' organization really has a good idea of how the Lakers feel about each prospect.
On the flip side, however, a Dunn-Clarkson-Russell backcourt would be intriguing given the versatility that each player would bring, so it's fair to say that this report isn't unbelievable either.
Regardless, we'll find out Tuesday night during the NBA Draft Lottery if the Lakers will even have a shot at selecting Dunn. Until then, I would take this report with a grain of salt.