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Late Lottery Prospects Should Clips Keep Pick

By Ryan Snellings

NEW YORK, USA - JUNE 21: NBA draft 2018 in Barclays Center in New York, United States on June 21, 2018. (Photo by Mohammed Elshamy/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, USA - JUNE 21: NBA draft 2018 in Barclays Center in New York, United States on June 21, 2018. (Photo by Mohammed Elshamy/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 03: Los Angeles Clippers consultant Jerry West talks with executive vice president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank at the game against the San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center on April 3, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 03: Los Angeles Clippers consultant Jerry West talks with executive vice president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank at the game against the San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center on April 3, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /

While they aren’t guaranteed to have a first round pick, it’s not too early to look at late lottery prospects should the LA Clippers fall into the lotto.

With 23 games left in the NBA season, the LA Clippers are continuing to fight for a playoff spot. Should they make the postseason, the team’s first round pick will be traded to the Boston Celtics. However, should they just miss, the team will keep their pick and end up in the late lottery.

There’s no certainty in which way the remainder of the season will play out, especially with the Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Lakers right on the Clips’ tail.

For that reason, we need to start looking at late lottery prospects in case we do miss the postseason.

The 2019 draft has thus far been labeled as one of the least deep drafts in the past several years. The top is loaded with talent with the likes of Zion Williamson, Ja Morrant, RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish, but after those select few, there is a discernible drop off in talent.

This isn’t to say there are only bad players left, but the one’s available in the late lottery all have something concerning in their game that may take some work to overcome.

Today, we will run briefly through some of the players who project to be available around pick number 14, which is the likely landing spot for LA.

These players were selected by using this extremely helpful page from HoopsHype. The team over there took the average draft positions from ESPN, Sports Illustrated, NBADraft.net and Bleacher Report to assemble an aggregate mock draft.

As the team stands right now, frontcourt help seems to be the primary concern. While the team will likely be a big player, the draft occurs prior to the start of the free agency period. It might be wise to address their shortages in the draft on the off chance that they are unable to land any players of their choosing. This would mean both the small forward and the center position need to be addressed.

There are a variety of players that look to be available, so let’s jump into it.