#12 pick: Taurean Prince
Taurean Prince was traded to the Atlanta Hawks just weeks after being selected 12th overall by the Utah Jazz. During his rookie year, Prince had a modest season off the bench for the middling Hawks who decided to blow it up for the 2017 campaign. Prince was one of the biggest benefactors of the Hawks’ tanking efforts. The Baylor product averaged 14.1 points per game his sophomore season and looks to be a key part of the Hawks rebuild.
Prince is a solid two-way player at one of the NBA’s most valuable position. A talented, young wing at 12 would be a solid pick for the Clippers.
#13 pick: Georgios Papagiannis
And here is the outlier. Georgios Papagiannias was selected 13th by the Sacramento Kings in 2016. Most of this falls on the Kings spotty talent evaluation, but Papagiannis was a major flop at 13. The Greek big man barely played before getting waived in February.
The Clipper’s biggest fear come Thursday is drafting a player who flat-out cannot contribute. While the front office has seemingly made good personnel decisions as of late, picks like Papagiannis highlight the worries of standing pat.