With the trade deadline behind us, it’s time to focus on the draft and what the Los Angeles Clippers will do with their two first round picks.
It’s speculation time. NBA Draft experts across the country are beginning to compile their mock drafts for this year’s rookie class. With the Los Angeles Clippers having two first round picks in this talented draft, let’s take a look at a couple of the players early projections have the team taking.
Robert Williams, PF/C – Texas A&M
Robert Williams has popped up on several mock drafts around the 11-15 range. The 6’9″, 240lb sophomore will likely stay a late lottery prospect, despite returning for a second year of college hoping to become a top pick. Williams does sport a 7.5′ wingspan and has an NBA ready body.
This season for the Aggies, Williams is averaging 10.8 points on 64.5% shooting. He’s also pulling down 9.6 rebounds and on defense, he is averaging 2.5 blocks. Williams also dishes out 1.6 assists, which isn’t bad considering he’s a full time big man.
You can check out his freshman year highlights below.
With the uncertainty of DeAndre Jordan’s future up in the air, it does make SOME sense to take Williams. Williams does sport a mid-range game and is extremely athletic. He’s a capable scorer who is still expanding on his post game. His length and athleticism does allow him to be a good shot blocker. His game relies on his elite explosiveness to the point that he doesn’t always use fundamentals, which could be a problem in the NBA when he’s up against more players with the same athletic ability. NBADraft.net also notes that he is still very raw, while CBS Sports cites:
"Williams has been a bit of a disappointment this year. Yet he’s still averaged nearly a double-double at 10.4 points and 9.9 rebounds. He’s powerful and explosive around the rim, but his game hasn’t developed like you’d hope in his sophomore season."
However, taking his skill set into consideration along with Montrezl Harrell’s play this season, Williams seems a bit redundant.
Miles Bridges, SF/PF – Michigan State
Miles Bridges, like Robert Williams, is showing as a late lottery player. He’s another sophomore that the Los Angeles Clippers can look to play in multiple positions. At 6’7″, 230lbs, he can slot in as both a small forward or a small ball power forward. Also like Williams, returning for his sophomore season made him drop outside of being a top-10 pick.
Through his 26 games for the Spartans this season, Bridges is averaging 17.8 points on 49% shooting, including 37.2% from three on 5.6 attempts per game. He also manages to grab 7.1 rebounds and dishes out 2.8 assists. His length (6’9″ wingspan) also helps him get 1.0 blocks per game, which is great for a wing player.
Take a look at his 2017 highlights.
Bridges has shown the ability to knock down the three-ball and with his athleticism and size, he could become a 3-and-D player which every team in the NBA wants. His 37% shooting from three is good and if he were to improve it in the NBA, he would easily fit almost any roster. Pairing him alongside Tobias Harris would give the Clippers the ability to switch often on defense without giving up much size or speed to the opponent.
According to NBADraft.net, Bridges does have some issues handling the ball, which could be a problem in the NBA when defenders have quicker hands. Sports Illustrated (who currently has the Clips taking Bridges) also cited that he could have some issues attacking off the dribble.
"Bridges’ struggles to attack off the dribble and lack of ideal measurables could be indicative of some long-term problems, but at the back end of the lottery he makes sense given the things he does do well."
As Sports Illustrated says, he may not be a complete player yet, but there are enough positives there to justify taking him late in the lottery. With Danilo Gallinari still under contract, Bridges could come off the bench and learn on the fly while not being forced into major minutes.
Lonnie Walker, SG – Miami
Lonnie Walker is an interesting freshman prospect. He comes in at 6’4″, 206lbs. He has a ton of talent and is starting to put it together as the NCAA season goes on. He was highly touted coming out of high school and is slowly starting to play like many expected he could.
In his 24 games for the Hurricanes, he’s scoring 11.3 points on 41.9% shooting. These 11.3 points include 35.1% from deep. However, as Sports Illustrated talked about in their recent coverage of Walker on February 5th, he’s shooting better recently on more attempts.
"Walker has knocked down 36.3% of his 102 attempts from deep this season, but he’s converting at a much higher clip over his last six games (44.4% on 7.5 attempts per game), and his improved shooting at the free throw line during ACC play (82.8%, though on only 29 attempts) bodes well for his development into a floor spacer at the next level."
If he can continue to shoot like that in the NBA, Walker will be commodity. Combined with his length and athleticism, he could be a real scoring threat at the next level. You can see his 26 point scoring outburst against Boston College in the video below.
Draft Express cites his strengths:
"-Has outstanding physical tools. Big, strong frame. Ample height for a shooting guard. Big wingspan that should allow him to even guard some small forwards. -Good athlete. Strong first step. Good quickness. -Good with the ball. Creative and strong. Finishes acrobatically using both sides of the rim. Can power through contact with his strong frame"
Sounds great, right? With both Avery Bradley and Austin Rivers possibly hitting the free agency market in the summer, the Los Angeles Clippers could use another wing. The team did take Jawun Evans and Sindarius Thornwell in this year’s draft, but neither shows the offensive potential that Walker does.
There are issues and no guarantee that he can play against bigger, elite defenders. He recent surge in scoring could also be attributed to a higher usage rate since Bruce Brown, another potential lottery pick, went down due to injury. However, there is a lot of upside here and if the Clips think they need more scoring from the guard position, they could do a lot worse than Lonnie Walker.
Keep checking back here as we approach the NBA Draft for more focus on potential prospects for your Los Angeles Clippers!