LA Clippers Offseason Regret #2) Not Getting Better Through the Draft
Going into the draft, the expectation wasn’t that the LA Clippers would be very active, but with a front office like ours you can never be too sure. Lo and behold, the Clippers ended up being very active in the draft, making two selections and a big trade (more on that later).
Look, picks in the second round are a crapshoot, and you can’t expect greatness from day 1 out of a second round pick. That said, the needs of the team weren’t exactly a score-first shooting guard and another project big.
At the 2 guard, Jay Scrubb came in injured, but even had he been healthy, it would be hard for him to see the court with Paul George, Lou Williams, Reggie Jackson and Luke Kennard all wanting to score from the guard position, and Patrick Beverley holding down the fort as a defender and shooter.
Scrubb’s scouting report lists his scoring and athleticism as strengths and defense, shot IQ, passing ability and decision making as weaknesses. It’s tough to see him cracking the rotation. As of right now, Scrubb’s on a two-way contract and out indefinitely after foot surgery.
The other pick coming to the LA Clippers was Daniel Oturu, a project big man who will need work to contribute at an NBA level. A description which sounds suspiciously like Mfiondu Kabengele, who’s already on the Clippers roster (and also had his contract option denied). Oturu is currently playing for the Agua Caliente Clippers and will be playing in the G-League bubble.
Neither of these guys figure to contribute in any meaningful way this season, and it will take some serious development to get contribution in the next couple of years. Not impossible, but not quite a gamble I want to be taking as a team competing for a championship right now.
That said, it’s not so much that the team didn’t get immediate contribution out of their second round picks. It’s that they didn’t take shots at positions of need – namely, somebody who could play on the wing and hold their own on defense. Let’s say Oturu did pan out immediately. Where would he be? Third center behind Ibaka and Zubac doesn’t exactly have a huge impact.
For a team who has seen their reserves give up leads time and time again this season, it’s reasonable to ask “what if?” about using their draft picks on guys who would be third or fourth string at the best case.