With the 2018 NBA Draft just weeks away, more and more rumors are beginning to heat up for the Los Angeles Clippers.
The 2018 NBA Draft could be a franchise-changing draft for the Los Angeles Clippers. Currently, they have the No. 12 and No. 13 picks. In arguably one of the deepest drafts in recent years, this gives LA an opportunity to pick up to young players, that can hopefully blossom into future NBA stars.
With two lottery picks, this also gives the Clippers an opportunity to try and trade up and draft a potential superstar. It appears for the Clippers, that might be the direction they’re leaning towards.
Shams Charania, an insider for Yahoo! Sports, appeared on a Yahoo podcast Saturday morning. According to Charania, it looks as if the Clippers are interested in trading up to select European sensation Luka Doncic.
"“I think there’s a lot of fluidity to this draft,” Charania said. “You could see a lot of pick movement. The Clippers have looked to trade up. I think a guy that they have really looked at heavily is Luka Doncic of Real Madrid. I think it’ll be a lot of movement in this draft, potentially.”"
Doncic has received high praise, with many people considering him as the best European prospect of all-time. While it hasn’t been confirmed, it appears as if the Suns will be taking Deandre Ayton with the No. 1 overall pick. Mock drafts have had Doncic going as high as No. 2, and even slipping to as low as No. 5.
Would the two lottery picks be enough?
Most likely not. Having two lottery picks to deal is a great asset, but it would also most likely need to include a player as well. It’s tough to determine which player would be included in the deal, but the favorite would likely have to be Tobias Harris. With only one year left on his contract, Harris would be quite the valuable asset to any team.
We’ve seen Harris’ numbers improve over the years. If any team is willing to part ways with their top-five pick, Tobias may be the guy that makes a potential deal fall through.