The LA Clippers’ three rookie players probably won’t see much time on the floor during the upcoming season, but there are still goals they can achieve.
A lot has changed for Mfiondu Kabengele, Terance Mann and Amir Coffey since draft night. A lot has changed for the LA Clippers since then, too.
The Clippers entered the night without a first-round draft pick, and because of that, few fans were expecting them to make any noise until the latter half of the process. There was also no indication from the organization or media that they intended to trade up, so it makes sense why moving up to select Kabengele with the No. 27 pick was such a shocker.
LA sent the Brooklyn Nets a solid package for Kabengele, including the No. 56 pick in the draft as well as a 2020 first-rounder via the Philadelphia 76ers, which the Clippers acquired from the Tobias Harris trade.
Kabengele, a 6 foot 10 inch big and nephew of Dikembe Mutombo, was not expecting the Clippers to make a move for him. According to the LA Times‘ Andrew Greif, he didn’t even work out for the team. But LA saw promise in his shot-blocking and floor-stretching abilities, and hence, they were able to strike a deal and bring him in.
Unlike his Florida State teammate, Mann probably came into the night expecting to be taken by the Clippers. According to Lawrence Frank, the Clippers had been scouting him since he was just 13.
Mann did a little bit of everything at Florida State, averaging 11.4 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in his senior season. He also connected on a career-best 39.0 percent (30-77 overall) of his three-point attempts that year, something the Clippers hope he builds off of as he goes into the NBA.
Coffey, on the other hand, was not selected on draft night. Instead, he signed a two-way contract with the LA Clippers on July 9, just a few days after they added Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. He looked solid in Summer League, trailing only Kabengele in points per game and sinking 43.0 percent of his field goal attempts.
The Clippers have gotten good use out of two-way players in the past, and Coffey has a chance to be next in line on that list. Tyrone Wallace and C.J. Williams are the obvious success stories there, and Johnathan Motley has been solid at both levels as well.
Unfortunately, unless the Clippers have to deal with a number of injuries, this rookie group will spend a majority of its time on the bench. LA is arguably the deepest team in the league, and with championship aspirations, you would be hard-pressed to find a place for them to see legitimate minutes on the depth chart.
That being said, they can all do several things over the course of the season to prepare themselves in case the opportunity arises, and that’s what we’re here to talk about.
First off, we’ll see what Kabengele can do.