Karl-Anthony Towns Says He Tried to Get T-Wolves to Draft Jamal Murray over Kris Dunn

Karl-Anthony Towns can't help but watch Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray's chemistry during the NBA Finals and wondering if that should have been him.

The Minnesota Timberwolves center said he pushed for the front office to select Murray over Kris Dunn in the first round of the 2016 NBA draft, per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. Dunn lasted only dismal one season in Minnesota before being sent to the Chicago Bulls as part of a trade for Jimmy Butler.

That deal wound up blowing up in the Timberwolves' face, as Butler played a grand total of 69 games in Minnesota while clashing with Towns and other teammates.

While Towns may have pushed for Murray in the 2016 draft, there was some logic in Minnesota selecting Dunn at the time. The Timberwolves already had a similarly skilled player on their roster in Zach LaVine.

Dunn was projected as a rugged, defense-first, pass-first point guard. Had he lived up to his potential, he likely would have paired nicely with LaVine on the perimeter.

It ultimately would not have mattered regardless, as Tom Thibodeau likely would have shipped off Murray the same way he did Dunn to acquire Butler a year later. Murray's relatively quiet rookie season did not portend a star turn, much in the same way Dunn's did not, so he wasn't a player who would have been hoarded in trade talks.

If anyone should be disappointed that the Wolves did not draft Murray, it's arguably Bulls fans, who could have had both Murray and LaVine on their roster.