Top Los Angeles Clippers NBA Draft Picks In The Last 10 Years
Drafting hasn’t been the strongest component of the Los Angeles Clippers’ ability to build their team. From poor scouting to selections and player development, most of the players picked after power forward Blake Grifin with the first overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft have been a big disappointment.
The Clippers' draft performance has been terrible due to former head coach/general manager Doc Rivers and former general manager Michael Winger.
Once in a while, the Clippers do find a hit in one of their draft picks. While the team wishes there were more successful selections, three players have been solid for the Clippers. Here are the top three players drafted by the Clippers within the past ten years.
Miles Bridges (Traded To Charlotte For Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) - 2018
The Clippers made serious strides for Kentucky point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the 2018 NBA Draft. Even when the Charlotte Hornets selected SGA 11th overall, one pick before the Clippers, Los Angeles convinced Charlotte to trade SGA. Los Angeles accomplished this by trading forward Miles Bridges, the player the Clippers selected with the 12th overall pick, to Charlotte.
The Clippers entered their first season without Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, or Chris Pual on the roster. It was the season Los Angeles exceeded low expectations by making the playoffs without a star as they prepared for big moves the following off-season.
In his rookie year, Shai averaged 10.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.2 steals in the 82 games played, 73 of them being starts. The Clippers didn’t want to put too much on their potential young star, but he showed he had a great future ahead of him.
Los Angeles was in a position to sign Kawhi Leonard, who just won a championship with the Toronto Raptors. Instead of playing around the roster currently constructed, Leonard told the Clippers he wanted to play with another star. That star would be Paul George, who was with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Clippers made the difficult decision to trade SGA, Danilo Ganillari and five first-round picks to the Thunder for George.
SGA is now a superstar in the league with the Thunder, and George is with the Philadelphia 76ers. Leonard is still with the Clippers and gives the team a chance at a championship, but Clippers Nation will always wonder what could have been if Leonard hadn’t force management to trade their immediate future for George.
Terance Mann - 2019
Terance Mann is potentially the best player the Clippers have selected in the last ten years. After four solid years with Florida State, Los Angeles selected Mann in the second round with the 48th overall pick.
Mann wasn’t the dominating statistics player at Florida State, and the Clippers didn’t need him to be that player, either. He is one of the better all-around players the Clippers have had in a long time. Mann plays excellent defense, plays hard, can shoot well in the corner, rebounds, and drives to the basket.
He has played 345 regular-season games in his five years with the Clippers. He plays great when asked to step up, especially in the postseason. Mann made him immortal to Clippers Nation when he scored 39 points, shooting 15-of-21 from field goals and 7-of-10 from the three-point arc, to defeat the Utah Jazz 131-119 at home. This knocked the No. 1 seeded Jazz out of the playoffs. It also got the Clippers to their first-ever Western Conference Finals appearance.
Mann is projected to start at the shooting guard position for the Clippers going into the sixth year of his career. If there is anyone the Clippers can turn to for energy and get a young leadership role in the locker room, it would be Mann.
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