As soon as the NBA Draft Lottery ended, the mock drafting world went crazy, and even though the LA Clippers are still playing, it’s never too early to see who the draft experts have the Clips taking.
Jonathan Wasserman, the Lead NBA Scout/NBA Draft Analyst for Bleacher Report, put out a mock draft, and had the Clippers taking a guard.
It’s never a bad idea to have guard depth, as the league keeps getting smaller, and the Clippers have had their successes this postseason going with smaller lineups.
Jonathan Wasserman mocked Jaden Springer to the LA Clippers with the 25th overall pick.
If the LA Clippers take Jaden Springer, they are taking a high-upside potential combo guard.
Springer was very efficient for the University of Tennessee, shooting 46.7% from the field, and 43.5% from deep. From the line, he shot 81%.
That being said, Springer only scored 12.5 points per game in his lone season with the Vols. The thing about Springer is that he didn’t take a ton of shots. He only took 9.1 shots per game, and just 1.8 threes per game.
He’s solid as a scorer when it comes to who he is off the dribble, but he’s not the best at creating. He can get a little sloppy when it comes to creating his own shot, and a little sloppy in general, averaging 2.4 turnovers per game at the college level.
Averaging 1.2 steals per game, he’s a solid defensive player, which fits right in with the Clippers. The Clippers have many guards and small forwards who play elite defense, and Springer could fit in very nicely with the Clips.
Again, Springer needs to clean up the turnovers, but that’s something NBA coaching can fix. Not to mention, the Clippers have a very good coach with NBA Finals-winning experience. If Springer goes to the Clippers, he should improve on the turnovers, and then his next task will be to improve who he is as an overall scorer.
That’s the most unknown aspect of Springer’s game, and will be that next focus of his development if he is selected by the Clippers.