Comments for 213hoops.com

Comment on Clippers vs Suns Preview: Can the Clippers Start Their First Winning Streak? by Michael Cage

Michael Cage — Thu, 12 Nov 2026 18:56:15 +0000

I don’t think you can objectively say AS OF TODAY, Wagler is one of the top tier rookies, Khyber, The only ones saying that are Clippers fans like us because we scrutinize every play for his potential.

He’s not even among the top 10 rookies in NBA.com ranking right now:

https://www.nba.com/news/kia-rookie-ladder-november-11-2026

You can make the argument that the media doesn’t pay attention to the Clippers but the same thing can be said for us not paying attention to other rookies.

Wagler has potential to be sure, and maybe in 2-3 years, he can develop into one of the top 3 players in this class. But he is not that right now. And to say that as of today, he belongs in the top 5, is not reality.

My fear for the Clippers franchise is that they so desperately need a breakout superstar rookie to bridge these next 10 years before they can emerge from the death penalty. If Wagler fails to develop, the fan base will totally dump on Wagler as much as they’re hyping him now, and then we will have thrown away our sole lottery ticket because it was only worth $1000 and not a million.

Comment on Clippers vs Suns Preview: Can the Clippers Start Their First Winning Streak? by Thretch

Thretch — Thu, 12 Nov 2026 18:27:07 +0000

Some good points, but the Robinson comparison is not a valid one. Robinson was a terrible pick for MANY reasons. But key is that he was the 13th pick on NOBODY’s list. He was a complete reach at 13. Wagler was a top 5-8 pick on everybody’s list. Jerome was a problem of a much grreater magnitude.

Comment on Clippers vs Suns Preview: Can the Clippers Start Their First Winning Streak? by khyber jones

khyber jones — Thu, 12 Nov 2026 16:14:44 +0000

I couldn’t disagree more. He’s going to be a star in this league. The data and eye test back it up. The only thing standing in his way is Ty Lue and his loyalty to his fellow Klutch Sports club member, Darius Garland.

Comment on Clippers vs Suns Preview: Can the Clippers Start Their First Winning Streak? by khyber jones

khyber jones — Thu, 12 Nov 2026 16:01:40 +0000

As of today Wagler averages 12.2 pts on a TS% of 55% with 3.4 assists, 3.5 rebs and a net rating of +3.7 on the worst team in the NBA. Compare that to any of the rookies out there snd he’s in the top tier. The data and eye test back up that Wagler has the goods.

If this team had started Wagler/Dunn or Wagler/Sanders in the backcourt, they would unironically be a much better basketball team, with a few more wins and a higher net rating.

Comment on Clippers vs Suns Preview: Can the Clippers Start Their First Winning Streak? by Oodypkt

Oodypkt — Thu, 12 Nov 2026 02:46:30 +0000

Let’s just say we compare leagues’ games played to a marathon.
10-year career, a successful one, span around 800 games.
Basically you ran like 50m in a marathon compared to playing each nba game in your career.
So it’s just a beginning for a guy in their first 10 games or like just 500 meters in a full run. This is just a warm up to their whole pro career.
I mean, do we really need to care that much if he score 5 points or 50 points in 1 game.
Oh and we might have ROY who will be older than the possible MVP.
Life is a journey man. Enjoy it while you can.

Comment on Clippers vs Suns Preview: Can the Clippers Start Their First Winning Streak? by Sweet Lou

Sweet Lou — Thu, 12 Nov 2026 00:48:06 +0000

All valid points however could be a complete mambojambo as this is only 10 games.
Deni Avejdia is the greatest recent example. Sometimes it just takes time. With that I agree that the Clippers should have probably someone like a Yaxel that is more NBA ready since we are not anywhere near contending and they needed to draft an alpha. that’s a valid point.

Comment on Clippers vs Suns Preview: Can the Clippers Start Their First Winning Streak? by KingAlfonse

KingAlfonse — Wed, 11 Nov 2026 23:37:01 +0000

I hope you’re right but he’s got incredibly suspect handles and seems to have zero “dog” in him. Seems like a great kid but just don’t see him being a franchise centerpiece. Reminds me of Robinson and all the talk of “Carries himself the right way” which is really Lawrence Frank speak for “is a dork who’s well-spoken and polite in interviews” which is fine, but shouldn’t be the priority over “has demonstrable skill relative to being a lottery pick.”

Maybe they draft differently if they knew the hammer was getting dropped (and trade garland, who is partially why they didn’t go for acuff) but I doubt it. This FO stinks. Should’ve been Acuff or Yaxel. (Or any number of guys who weren’t so passive as Wagler is.)

Comment on Clippers vs Suns Preview: Can the Clippers Start Their First Winning Streak? by Michael Cage

Michael Cage — Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:04:25 +0000

As much as we all hope you are right, we need to take our homer glasses off and evaluate Wagler for what he is now rather than assume that all his upsides will develop to their maximum potential. That’s like buying into Elon’s claim that Tesla is really an Optimus robot company and Space X will build data centers on the moon. Yes, it might be possible, but it’s a very long road to get there and you don’t want to buy all the hype all the time. A healthy amount of skepticism is necessary to see risks and rewards for what they are.

I personally believe that Wagler has the potential to be a great player and he won’t necessary be a bust, but the more likelihood is that he develops into a fringe all star player rather than a franchise one, which wouldn’t be a disastrous pick but wouldn’t be a home run either.

Comment on Clippers vs Suns Preview: Can the Clippers Start Their First Winning Streak? by John Maclean

John Maclean — Wed, 11 Nov 2026 21:53:35 +0000

Yes. To his credit SGA worked his tail off on his shooting and other weaknesses but I think Keaton will do the same. You don’t have to be a great athlete to be a good defender. Just need brains and commitment. Neither Bird or Duncan were great athletes but people forget Bird was all defense team three times and Duncan a legend on that end. Is Alex Caruso really a better athlete than Keaton? Not sure about that yet he’s outstanding on that end. Our own Struss isn’t too shabby either. Keaton is an insane shooter with a high IQ who is all business on the floor so I expect great things from him.

PS. No squabbling among us just because our team is terrible 🙂

Comment on Clippers vs Suns Preview: Can the Clippers Start Their First Winning Streak? by khyber jones

khyber jones — Wed, 11 Nov 2026 21:07:18 +0000

Sorry, but this view is badly mistaken. I’d rank Wagler as better than most of the rookies out there in terms of overall skill level. This kid has it.