LA Clippers: 3 potential prospects in the late first round of the NBA Draft

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Jan 30, 2021; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils guard Josh Christopher (13) against the Stanford Cardinal at Desert Financial Arena (Tempe). Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

The LA Clippers actually have an NBA Draft pick this season. While the team is focused on the playoffs, it’s never too early to start looking at the future. The 2021 Draft is one of the years that the team can add youth to their roster, so let’s take a look at three early projected candidates for the team towards the end of the first round.

1. LA Clippers NBA Draft prospect: Josh Christopher, Guard, Arizona State

Josh Christopher is a project guard that the Clippers could look to take. He’s more of a combo guard who Clipper fans think might sound a bit familiar. From Bleacher Report:

"At this stage, he’s far more efficient in the open floor than the half court, where he’ll need to improve his decision-making and shooting consistency."

Sound familiar? Christopher has shades of Terance Mann and could be a longer-term project for the Clippers. Here are his stats from his lone season at Arizona State:

14.3 points per game
43.2 FG%, 30.5% 3P%
4.7 rebounds
1.4 assists
1.5 steals

The biggest takeaway here is that he absolutely needs work on his shooting. Sure, there are rare instances where guards don’t need to be good three point shooters but being at 30% in college where the line is shorter is not a good sign. He did shoot 80% from the free throw line, so there is potential that he could develop a shot.

Christopher might be the type of guy the Clippers can stash for a year at the end of their bench and hope he develops. It worked with Terance Mann, so why not try again?