yahoo - 6/1/2026 4:39:25 AM - GMT (+2 )
The Los Angeles Clippers don’t necessarily have to hit the reset button after a mediocre 2025-26 season but will need to make the right decisions to replenish their roster for the future.
The Clippers will enter the NBA draft with the fifth overall pick on Tuesday, June 23.
It's the franchise’s lowest draft selection since picking Oklahoma's Blake Griffin with the No. 1 overall pick in 2009.
The Clippers likely will consider a guard with their first-round pick.
Even though the team acquired guard Darius Garland before the trade deadline during the season, the Clippers will consider their options from a guard-heavy list of draft prospects.
A forward could also be considered despite Kawhi Leonard’s likely return to the Clippers.
There’s still a chance that Leonard could be moved, but interested teams would have to be willing to make a trade offer and look past any potential punishment by the NBA for Leonard and the Clippers for their alleged involvement in a “no-show” agreement with a company to funnel extra compensation to the player.
L.A. Clippers experts' mock draft selectionsUSA TODAY Sports: Kingston Flemings, Houston, guard
CBS Sports: Keaton Wagler, Illinois, guard
ESPN: Keaton Wagler, Illinois, guard
Bleacher Report: Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas, guard
NBAdraft.net: Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas, guard
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Clippers mock draft: LA gets rising star in latest version
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