One of the more interesting rumors to pop up for the Los Angeles Lakers recently was one that they had made a promise to center Mitchell Robinson with their 25th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.
It popped up during the NBA Draft Combine last week and was pretty unexpected considering the Lakers’ recent history. The team has done very well in drafting recently, and making a promise at such an early stage seemed unlike them.
Of course, rumors are just that. And this one should probably be taken with a grain of salt. According to Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus, the Lakers have yet to commit to selecting Robinson or any other prospect with the 25th pick in this year’s draft:
I'd put the brakes on the "Lakers promised X player" rumor thing. They're actively doing their due diligence for their pick – nothing decided I hear https://t.co/ZmU18xdBYX
— Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) May 22, 2018
This should come as no surprise as the Lakers are still immersed in pre-draft workouts at their training facility and have plenty of players to give a long look at.
Making a decision before bringing in all possibilities would be the opposite of what they have done in recent years which has worked so well. The fact that it was said to be Robinson who received the promise is also an interesting note.
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka has spoken about the team looking at college tape, the Draft Combine, agent pro-days, and their own pre-draft workouts when evaluating prospects. Robinson never played a single minute for Western Kentucky, and he withdrew from all activities and interviews at the Draft Combine, so he is a major mystery at this point.
It could very well turn out that Robinson is the right pick for the Lakers and they could select him come draft time. But the idea of the franchise making a promise this far out from the draft still seems unlikely.
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