Kris Dunn (Photo : Twitter)
More speculation surrounds the 2016 NBA Draft as a new candidate for the no.1 pick emerges.
Kris Dunn is one of the prospects that are projected as "NBA ready" and is expected to contribute right away. He has been compared to the Washington Wizards John Wall, a former first overall pick because they are both athletic point guards.
Perhaps they could share another similarity as Dunn may also be a first overall pick if the scenario presented by Dan Favale of Bleacher Report pans out.
Favale quoted Ric Bucher (also of B/R) saying "(Dunn) is exactly what the 76ers need and would be a great fit. They just don't have the gumption, I'm told by league sources, to take him No. 1, even though the feeling is he could ultimately be the best player among the three."
The Sixers are high on Simmons' overall talent but they have a logjam at the frontcourt which is why they are aggressively shopping their centers Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel. However, there are no guarantees on that as Favale pointed out.
"If the Sixers can't line up suitors for any of their incumbent bigs, they may draft for need over assumed talent."
The ideal situation for the Sixers is to trade Okafor to the Boston Celtics for their no.3 pick, as illustrated by CBS Sports draft expert Sam Vecenie, and use it to draft Kris Dunn.
Vecenie noted that Okafor, if he were in this draft, is probably the third best player (still behind Simmons and Ingram). While Dunn would be behind Okafor in terms of talent, he is a better fit for the Sixers. On the other hand, Okafor fills out a need for the Celtics at center where they sometimes started undersized Jared Sullinger at.
It makes a lot of sense so what's the hold up? The Celtics are known to make a lot of posturing and Danny Ainge likes to squeeze the most value from a trade (ask the Brooklyn Nets). They might have anticipated that the Sixers need Dunn more than the Celtics need Okafor and may have asked for other pieces.
On the Sixers side, they have also expressed interest in Jamal Murray as stated in a previous report and this could be a ploy to throw off the Celtics in case they hold Dunn as a "hostage" with the no.3 pick. On his part, Dunn's camp has sent signals that he does not want to be picked by the Celtics.
These scenarios are still speculative in nature based on statements and information from the teams involved.
