After not having a first-round draft pick in 2022, the Clippers have the very last pick of the first round in 2023, as well as the 48th pick. With a currently crowded roster and championship expectations, it’s possible one or both of the prospects is either a “draft and stash” or will fill the two-way slots in the G-League (the new CBA is giving each team three two-way slots instead of two). While we are starting as always with a look at point guard prospects “by the numbers” for the 2023 draft, point guard seems like the least likely position the Clippers will draft, as they have two young point guards on the roster already (though who knows if Jason Preston will stick to 2024), want to bring back Russell Westbrook, and have a bunch of other guards as well. Nonetheless, let’s take a look at some point guard prospects in the 2023 Draft!
The following explanation is more or less a copy paste explanation of the stats and methodology from previous years. The numbers I compile for this are for college players only (no international, OTE, or G-League players included), and are per game, not per possession. In the NBA, per possession is a more useful stat, but when looking at college players, I feel like playing time is a bigger component – if you can’t play in college, you probably won’t play in the NBA. I also stopped at around number 70 on ESPN’s prospect list, as guys below that won’t get drafted at 30 and are unlikely to get picked even at 48. Finally, the numbers are averaged between the last two college seasons the players played, which can hurt some guys but can balance out outlier seasons.
| Players | Age | PPG | APG | RPG | SPG | BPG | TOPG | 3PT | TS |
| Jalen Hood-Schifino | 19 | 13.5 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 0.492 |
| Nick Smith | 19.2 | 12.5 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 0.472 |
| Cason Wallace | 19.7 | 11.7 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 2 | 0.5 | 2.1 | 1.4 | 0.543 |
| Marcus Sasser | 22.8 | 17.3 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 1.9 | 0.1 | 1.9 | 3.2 | 0.599 |
| Amari Bailey | 19.3 | 11.2 | 2.2 | 3.8 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 0.553 |
| Mike Miles Jr | 20.8 | 16.6 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 2.7 | 1.4 | 0.543 |
| Jalen Pickett | 23.7 | 15.5 | 5.5 | 4.9 | 1 | 0.6 | 2 | 1.4 | 0.539 |
| Isaiah Wong | 22.4 | 15.8 | 2.6 | 4.3 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 0.559 |
| Justin Powell | 22.1 | 7.1 | 1.7 | 2.7 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 0.545 |
| Markquis Nowell | 23.5 | 15 | 6.7 | 3.5 | 2.4 | 0.1 | 3.2 | 2 | 0.535 |
Similarly to above, I’m not going to delve deeply into the statistical analysis component. Suffice to say, the three most important elements for point guard prospects (in comparing college stats to advanced all-in-one numbers at the NBA level including WS/48, VORP, and BPM to determine correlation) are steals, three-point shooting, and true shooting, with age (younger is better) and rebounds also being impactful. Assists and points generally don’t seem to have much a correlation with success, nor do turnovers, weirdly enough, despite those being the three most associated stats with point guard play. Without further ado, here are some point guards in the 2023 NBA Draft that stood out for positive or negative reasons.
Best Prospects in Clippers’ Range
Marcus Sasser – Sasser actually projects as the best point guard prospect in this draft, point blank. Now, I don’t actually believe he is, and I wouldn’t take him over several of the players ranked above him, but the statistical backing is real. Sasser is more of an undersized two-guard than a point, but I think his deficiencies as a playmaker and passer can be made up for by the threat of his shooting. Sasser hit over 40% of his threes on around 7.5 attempts per game across his last two seasons in college, which is very high volume for the amateur game. He was an extremely efficient scorer, didn’t turn the ball over much, and had a very good steal rate. At 6’2, he’s going to be somewhat limited defensively, but he’s not awful on that end, and the shooting could make up for it. Maybe he’s redundant with Bones Hyland, but if he’s there at 30 I think he’d be a good talent play, and if he’s somehow at 48 he’d be a huge steal.
Amari Bailey – Bailey is not a can’t miss prospect by any means, but he rebounded the ball well, had a decent steal rate, and scored efficiently on meaningful attempts in the Pac-10 on a very good UCLA team. With real size at 6’5, aged just 19, and a top-10 high school ranking pedigree, there’s some upside to Bailey as well, somewhat unusual for a player who could be available into the second round.
Prospects to Trade Up For
Cason Wallace – The Clippers don’t have a ton of assets to trade up much in the 2023 draft, it’s unlikely they’d use real assets to trade up at all, and would likely not move up for a point guard. That said, Cason Wallace would be the guy for me. He’s fallen a bit in the past few weeks from seemingly a lock for the top 10 to being mocked as low as the mid-late teens, and if he drops that far he will be a steal. He had very good production as a freshman in a strong conference, providing an exceptional steal rate, 2:1 assist to turnover ratio, and decent scoring efficiency with good defense. There might not be superstar upside there, but Cason could be a plus on both ends, and being 6’4 as a point guard is valuable for defensive purposes. I think he’d be a good fit on the Clippers and a great talent get if he does fall to 17 or so.
Prospects to Avoid
None, really – Jalen Pickett and Justin Powell project particularly well with the stats, and are older prospects without a ton of upside, but neither of them are dreadful statistical prospects either. I wouldn’t be happy if the Clippers took either of them, but I don’t think there’s a single player on this list who gives me “steer away at all costs” vibes via numbers or film.
International Prospects of Note
Nadir Hifi – Hifi is technically categorized as a “shooting guard”, but at 6’2 he’d be playing point guard in the NBA. Hifi plays for Le Portel in the French LNB Pro A league, one of the best in Europe (and the world), where he starts and plays over 30 minutes per game. Hifi turns 21 just two weeks after the draft, so he’s fairly young, and he’s averaging 16.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 3.4 assists against good competition while shooting 56% from two and 34.5% from three (on 5.4 attempts per game). His production is very good considering his age, so even though he’s not an above-the-rim athlete or a great playmaker, he’s someone I think could play in the NBA as a backup.
The Clippers are unlikely to draft a point guard at all in the 2023 draft, as mentioned above, but at the end of the first and late 2nd rounds it should be best pick available mode, so if the best player left is a point guard I’d want the Clippers to make the pick and figure out the rest later. Is there any point guard you’d want the Clippers to draft?