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Why the LA Clippers don’t have a single pick in the 2017 NBA Draft

By Ognian Ovidev

Jun 23, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Brice Johnson (North Carolina) greets NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the number twenty-five overall pick to the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 23, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Brice Johnson (North Carolina) greets NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the number twenty-five overall pick to the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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The 2017 NBA draft is right around the corner, but the LA Clippers don’t have a pick. We examine what lead them to this point.

With the NBA draft coming up soon, both teams and fans alike hope to draft the player that could change a franchise forever. That will not be the case for the LA Clippers, who don’t hold a first or second round pick this year. Clearly there are advantages and disadvantages; the loss of the pick could have been for the better. At the same time, that means a loss of a potential “sleeper” pick, as the Clippers usually end up drafting in the late first round.

LA would have held the 23rd and 56th pick this year. Instead, Toronto and Boston own the picks. The first round pick is lost due to the Jared Dudley trade to Milwaukee. In exchange, the Clippers received Carlos Delfino, Miroslav Raduljica, a conditional 2015 2nd round pick (LAC own) and a 2016 2nd round pick. Maybe at the time the trade seemed logical, but there are some massive doubts to that notion. Both Delfino and Raduljica were waived only three days later.

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Therefore in reality, the trade becomes Dudley and a first rounder for two bad second round picks. Whilst it is likely that the pick would have landed in the 25-30 region, it still holds value , especially in a time like this, where the future of a large part of the current roster is in jeopardy. There is also the “who-knows?” factor. There are steals in the draft every year. In fact, one of our own stars in DeAndre Jordan was the 35th pick in the 2008 draft. What if the 23rd pick turns out to be a great player down the line? Of course, that is just mere speculation, and it rarely happens. As a whole, looking back at the trade, hindsight shows that the transaction was a waste of a first-round pick.

On the other hand, the trade involving the second-round pick is arguably way more significant, as it brought Doc Rivers’ son, Austin Rivers, to the team. In said trade,  Austin Rivers was acquired in exchange for Reggie Bullock, Chris Douglas-Roberts and a 2017 2nd round pick. Since joining the team in 2015, Austin has been a large contributor to the Clippers.  He is playing well off the bench, even starting at both guard positions at times. Both Bullock and Douglas-Roberts barely received any playing time, both with LA and their later teams. The 56th pick will probably end up amounting to nothing, most likely a player that will be instantly waived.

Compared with the trade for the 23rd pick, this one is head and shoulders above it; 3 insignificant players for an above average young prospect with proven capabilities is always a good trade. It strengthened the backup personnel of the Clippers, which had been lacking until this season.

Overall, even though there will be no draft selection for the LA Clippers on the 22nd of June, the acquisition of Austin Rivers balances it out to a certain extent. As for the other trade, it’s safe to say that Doc went 1 for 2 with his 2017 draft pick trades.

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