Our exit interview series on the 2026 Clippers continues with one of their big mid-season trade acquisitions, high-scoring guard Bennedict Mathurin.

Basic Information

Height: 6’5

Weight: 210 pounds

Position: Shooting Guard

Age: 23 (turns 24 in a month)

Years in NBA: 4

Key Regular Season Stats (for Clippers): 17.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.0 steals, and 2.1 turnovers in 28.0 minutes per game across 26 games played (1 start) on 42.6/20.7/85.8 (3.2 3PA, 7.3 FTA) shooting splits (56.1 True Shooting)

Expectations

When Mathurin was acquired at the trade deadline as part of the Ivica Zubac deal, expectations for him were crystal clear: be the Clippers sixth man off the bench. Some fans thought he might get a starting spot, but based on the Clippers’ roster and Mathurin’s own track record, a lead bench role seemed far more likely. Expectations for Mathurin were similar production to his time with the Pacers, meaning scoring in the mid-to-upper teens with an emphasis on downhill attacking and free throw generation.

Reality

For once with the Clippers, reality matched expectations. Mathurin came in and immediately started playing huge minutes off the bench, closing his second game on the team in a win over the Rockets. In his third outing, he scored 38 points in a fantastic win over Denver while adding five rebounds, four assists, and three steals, and all of the talk was about how the Clippers had got a steal in him. However, after playing 30+ minutes in his second through sixth games as a Clipper, Mathurin’s minutes tailed off some as his production dipped. For the next couple of weeks, Mathurin’s minutes varied, but he consistently provided a heavy volume of scoring with some ancillary production.

Then, in late March, it was announced that Mathurin had injured his toe and would miss at least three games. He ended up missing four, during which the Clippers went 2-2, before returning for the stretch run. Unfortunately, Mathurin’s play did not quite recover, as he scored 20 or more points in just three of those final 10 games (he did so in nine of 16 before the injury) and scored under 10 points in four of those games (only happened in three of the first 16).

Alongside the scoring, Clippers fans’ opinions shifted drastically on Mathurin during his tenure. The early, halcyon days of thinking the Clippers had landed a star guard for Zu quickly shifted towards frustration at Mathurin’s inconsistencies as a defender, decision-maker, and playmaker. By the end of the season, many Clippers fans were ready to move on, even with some of Mathurin’s huge performances for the team. However, there was definitely still a segment of the fanbase enamored by Mathurins’ tools, intensity, and bucket-getting acumen.

Future with Clippers

Mathurin’s future with the Clippers is perhaps the murkiest of any player who finished the season on the team. As a restricted free agent, the Clippers can ultimately decide to keep him if they want, as they can match any offer that another team puts forth. However, if another team gives him a big enough offer, it seems fairly likely that the Clippers will let him walk.

Mathurin is so complicated because he’s very much an “eye of the beholder” type player. You can look at him and see a prototypical sized two-guard with plus athleticism that’s a free throw and downhill attacking machine, all signs of a player with real star potential. You can also assess him as a poor decision-maker with a shaky outside shot and a defensive impact that is far worse than one would think given his tools.

That plays into the contract status in a major way. Based on his poor advanced metrics and lack of significant development as a player through four years, one could easily construct an argument that Mathurin is worth a contract not that much above the minimum, like a 3/18. On the other hand, he’s just entering his prime, has real raw production, and was a key piece on a team that nearly won a championship just last year, and his camp could use that information to want something at 4/100.

Ultimately, we don’t know whether Mathurin cares at all about staying with the Clippers, or how the Clippers feel about him, and those are the two most important elements to all of this. My guess is that Mathurin’s market is more lukewarm than he and his camp might expect, and he returns to the Clippers on a deal in between the two above, like a 3/50 – but nothing would surprise me.

2026 Clippers Exit Interview: Bennedict Mathurin
Robert Flom

Next up in our series on possible Clippers’ selections at 5 in the 2026 NBA Draft is probably the second most-mocked to the Clippers after Keaton Wagler, the electric Darius Acuff.

Basic Information

Position: Point Guard

Height: 6’2

Weight: 185.8 pounds

Wingspan: 6’6.5

Age on draft day: 19.6

College: Arkansas

Stats: 23.5 points, 6.4 assists, 3.1 rebounds, 0.8 steals, and 2.2 turnovers in 35.1 minutes per game across 36 games played (all starts) on 48.4/44/80.9 shooting splits (5.8 3PA, 6.1 FTA)

Overview

Darius Acuff had an electric season at Arkansas, leading the SEC conference in minutes, points, and assists per game as a freshman as well as having the best offensive BPM in the conference. Acuff also got results, leading Arkansas to the SEC Tournament championship and getting them to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. He was a box office draw, electrifying fans with his scoring and playmaking, and earning acclaim as maybe the most consistently fun player in the NCAA this season. It was a monstrous season for Acuff, and will get him drafted somewhere in the top 10.

Strengths

Acuff is a truly fantastic scorer that can get buckets at all three levels. For Acuff it all starts with his three-point shooting, which opens up his drive and pull-up game. For a guard of his age, Acuff truly has an advanced bag, including tough finishes around the rim, off-the-dribble threes, and self-created looks in the midrange. He’s not an explosive athlete like a Russell Westbrook or John Wall, but he is speedy and has a twitchiness to his game that makes him very tough to guard. His game strongly resembles classic bucket-getting guards, with flashes of Darius Garland, Kyrie Irving, and Kemba Walker in his scoring, dribbling, and overall approach. He is a hoopers dream, in other words.

But Acuff’s scoring is not his only strength on offense. Acuff is legitimately a good passer who dished the most assists per game in the conference while only turning the ball over 2.2 times per game. Keeping turnovers down considering his insane offensive usage is super impressive, and shows Acuff’s decision-making on that end of the court. The height can limit some passing angles, and he’s certainly not a brilliant passer like Steve Nash or Chris Paul, but there’s zero doubt he can run a team’s offense and make all of the standard passes needed in the modern NBA game.

There are intangibles to Acuff as well. While it doesn’t translate on defense (see below), he plays with a fire that is infectious, and had numerous clutch moments throughout the NCAA season. Being the leader of a good college team as a freshman is really tough, but Acuff (much like Wagler) pulled it off. He seems like someone fans would instantly fall in love with, and that has real value.

Weaknesses

Acuff’s biggest weakness is extremely obvious to anyone who has watched him play more than a few minutes: his defense. Even for a small, offense-first guard with a large usage burden, Acuff was really bad on defense. He consistently fell asleep off ball, made incorrect rotations, and offered no resistance at the point of attack. Now, some of that stuff can be worked on just through sheer effort, adding muscle, and having less of a load on offense, but it’s still very worrying. We have seen in the playoffs over the past few years that weak points on defense can get picked at over and over, and that even phenomenal offensive players (Trae Young, Darius Garland, James Harden) can get exposed in such situations. As good as Acuff is offensively, taking a player as deficient on one side of the ball as he is at 5^th overall is a big risk.

This is a big factor in the defense, but Acuff’s size is definitely a weakness in a vacuum. The NBA has moved away from small guards – the last three small guards to become stars in the NBA are Trae Young (2018), Darius Garland (2019), and Ja Morant (2019), and Ja and Trae have seen their value and rep fall off catastrophically in recent years. It’s not only difficult on defense, but on offense as well; seeing over the top of defenses for passes, finishing around the rim, and creating separation are all more difficult at Acuff’s size. I think he can still be an exceptional offensive player in the NBA, but he has to play at a high, high level to get there.

Fit with Clippers

This is where things get tough. If the Clippers do really intend to build around Darius Garland as a core piece, Acuff is the worst fit of any of the top-ranked guards with Garland, in my opinion. Acuff is the worst defender of the prospects, and pairing him with Garland seems untenable on that end of the court. On offense I think the shooting, ballhandling, and playmaking could mesh together well, but both guys are best suited as lead guards, not necessarily off guards.

That’s not to say I don’t think Acuff could work on the Clippers. The Clippers could definitely take him and give him 20+ minutes per game easily, with Acuff taking all of the non-Garland minutes as well as playing alongside him in bench units where the defense would be less of an issue. The Clippers could then reassess at the end of Acuff’s rookie season, and could either commit to him or move ahead with Garland. But Garland and Acuff together as a long-term pairing seems fraught, and that makes his overall fit on the Clippers murky. If you assume that Garland is someone the Clippers would be comfortable moving off of sooner than later, Acuff’s fit is much cleaner.

Ultimately, I would not be upset if the Clippers took Acuff at 5. He seems like the surest bet of any of the guards in this range to be a special offensive player, and that is meaningful despite the defensive questions. I don’t think he’s who I’d take, but I would get it.

2026 NBA Draft Prospect Preview: Darius Acuff
Robert Flom

Our exit interview series on the 2026 Clippers continues with a look at breakout third-year guard Jordan Miller.

Basic Information

Height: 6’5

Weight: 195 pounds

Position: Shooting Guard/Small Forward

Age: 26

Years in NBA: 3

Key Regular Season Stats (for Clippers): 10 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.1 turnovers in 22.1 minutes per game across 60 games played (1 start) on 53.1/34.5/77.7 (1.8 3PA, 2.9 FTA) shooting splits (62.8 True Shooting)

Expectations

It wasn’t even a certainty that Jordan would be on the Clippers’ roster when training camp began, as he was on a two-way for the third year in a row and the competition for the two-way spots in camp was expected to be stiff. Still, the expectation was that Jordan would serve in a similar role to his 2025 season, when he mostly played in garbage time and entered the rotation only in spot situations due to injury or slumps. While Jordan had some moments in the 2025 season, he played most of his minutes early on and was not a factor when the Clippers went on their end-of-season run. There was no real reason to think the 2026 season would be much different, not with all of the veteran guards and forwards the Clippers added in the 2025 offseason.

Reality

Like so many Clippers, Jordan was injured early on in the season. He missed the first 10 games with a hamstring injury, returned for a three-game stint, and then was ruled out again for a lengthy period (seven games) with a back injury. He played one game in the midst of that injury, but was quickly ruled out again for another four games. Thus, Jordan played in just four of the Clippers’ first 25 games.

By the time Jordan had returned, therefore, the Clippers’ season was already firmly in the tank. Their veteran guards and wings had disappointed, and there was ample opportunity for the younger players to grab minutes. Unfortunately, Jordan got off to a slow start, scoring in double figures in just one of the first 11 games that he played. He was only in the rotation for six of those games, and even though the scoring was lacking, he continuously chipped in on the glass and as a help defender. In previous seasons, when Jordan wasn’t scoring, he wasn’t playable, and that changed this season.

Finally, with his sea legs under him, Jordan got going. Beginning on January 9, he scored in double figures in nine of his next 10 games, with the one “miss” being a nine-point outing. He made his threes, but most importantly, he showed a downhill scoring ability that every Clipper outside of James Harden lacked. Some of Jordan’s issues remained – his defense was inconsistent and he could be single-minded in scoring without having much of an eye for playmaking for others – but the scoring assistance off the bench was huge in turning the Clippers’ season around.

Jordan’s role got a little shakier after the trade deadline, as Bennedict Mathurin came in and took the scoring guard sixth-man spot in the rotation. However, after a quiet couple of weeks, Jordan found his rhythm again at the end of February, and was pretty steadily good the entire rest of the season. The Clippers as a team were not consistent, but Jordan was good for scoring in the 10-14 point range seemingly every game, usually on good efficiency.

One great thing about Jordan this year was that the more minutes he got, the better he played. In the 36 games in which he logged 20 to 29 minutes, Jordan averaged 12.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists on 64% True Shooting. In five games when he received 30 to 39 minutes, Jordan’s averages leaped to 14 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.0 assists while maintaining the 64% True Shooting. The rebounding, efficiency, and playmaking along with improved defensive acumen made Jordan a legitimately positive impact player in his third season, a massive leap after a rookie year when he barely played in the NBA and a sophomore campaign where he quickly faded after a hot start.

Another key element to Jordan’s play this past season was reliability and availability. After missing all of those games early, Jordan was healthy basically the entire rest of the season, missing just one game late due to a back flare-up. On a roster that dealt with so many nagging injuries, you knew that Jordan would be out there getting buckets. Consistency has never been more important in the NBA (in this writer’s opinion, anyway), and Jordan was nothing if not consistent this year. What a season for Jordan.

Future with Clippers

Jordan is under contract for the 2027 season at a minimum salary that is just under $2.5M. Considering how well he played in 2026, that contract is a steal. With three years in the organization, Jordan is a well-known and liked presence, and I’d imagine the Clippers would like to get him on a longer-term contract to keep him on the team through the rest of his 20s. The question is whether Jordan would like that as well, or whether he’d prefer to enter free agency next summer for the first time. Either way, he will likely be on the Clippers this upcoming season in a reserve scorer role, and hopefully can continue improving on his breakout campaign.

2026 Clippers Exit Interview: Jordan Miller
Robert Flom

Next up in our exit interview series on the 2026 Clippers is rookie guard Kobe Sanders.

Basic Information

Height: 6’7

Weight: 207 pounds

Position: Shooting Guard/Small Forward

Age: 23 (turns 24 next week)

Years in NBA: 1

Key Regular Season Stats (for Clippers): 7.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.7 steals, and 1.2 turnovers in 19.9 minutes per game across 68 games played (16 starts) on 46.6/40.8/82.6 (2.9 3PA, 1.0 FTA) shooting splits (59.7 True Shooting)

Expectations

As the 50^th pick in the draft and a two-way player on a team expected to contend in the playoffs, Kobe Sanders did not have much in the way of expectations this season. Kobe was old for a rookie, and played well in the Summer League, so fans expected him to at least be a playable depth piece during periods of heavy injury, but nobody thought Kobe was going to be in the regular rotation or factor much into the Clippers’ season. When Kobe did play, the hope was for him to be competent enough at everything to not be awful, and to contribute a bit of ballhandling and scoring as a pull-up midrange shooter.

Reality

Sanders, perhaps more than any other player on the Clippers, shattered his expectations in a positive way. Kobe played garbage time minutes in the first two games, then sat out the next eight. That turned out to be the last extended stretch he didn’t play in the rest of the season.

With Bradley Beal and Kawhi Leonard out, and Chris Paul ineffective, Kobe entered the rotation on November 12 against the Nuggets and barely left it the rest of the season. Sanders had an immediate impact in his first game, nailing three of seven threes, and after a quiet second game in the rotation, had back-to-back double-digit scoring performances against the Celtics and Sixers on highly efficient shooting. Even as the rest of the team stumbled, Sanders continued to contribute solid performances, usually chipping in a handful of points, a couple of rebounds, and an assist or two on an average game.

Sanders did not leave the rotation even as the Clippers gradually got healthier and started winning games in late December. In fact, Sanders strung together perhaps his best weeks of the season in January as the Clippers went on their big winning streak, including scoring double-digit points in back-to-back games two more times with one being a noteworthy performance in a win over the Warriors. Perhaps the high note on Kobe’s entire season came on February 7, when the Clippers moved him from a two-way deal to a regular NBA contract, showing their appreciation for his play and upping his salary considerably.

Kobe’s spot in the rotation got more tenuous after the trade deadline, as Bennedict Mathurin came in and ate up a lot of minutes at the shooting guard spot, pushing Kobe to two DNP-CDs in a row on February 19 and 20. Kobe did not log more than individual DNP-CDs the rest of the way, but had a handful of games where he only played a few minutes, especially once Darius Garland also returned to the rotation. Still, down the stretch of the season, when the Clippers really needed to win games, Kobe returned to the rotation once more, this time in place of Nic Batum at the power forward spot. The fact that Kobe played minutes in those key games showed just how much trust he’d earned with the rest of the roster as well as the coaching staff.

Overall, there were rarely flashes of brilliance from Kobe, but for a rookie he was remarkably consistent, never letting bad games throw him into a funk and usually maintaining a baseline level of competence on both sides of the ball. Kobe’s three-point shooting was a particular surprise, as that was not a strength of his at the college level. He didn’t take threes at a high enough volume to be a truly dangerous threat from deep, but he shot the ball at an excellent percentage and looked confident taking contested threes. There were flashes of the confident dribble pull-up game that was Kobe’s bread and butter at the collegiate level, but for the most part he played a connector role for the Clippers – which was partially why he was a natural fill-in for Nico as Nico slipped out of the rotation. It was an encouraging rookie season, and even though there’s not a ton of upside for Kobe considering his age and lack of athleticism, he can definitely still improve in a number of facets as he ages into his mid-20s.

Future with Clippers

Kobe’s regular contract with the Clippers only runs for next season, so he doesn’t have long-term security with the team, but he’s one of the least likely Clippers to be moved in a deal. While not a future star, Kobe seems like a lock to be a rotation player in the NBA for a long time, and the Clippers’ front office and coaching staff loved having him on the team. With a small contract that’s not much use in trades, and a game that translates well to a variety of different other pieces, Kobe feels like a guy who will be on the Clippers for years to come as a supporting piece. It’s not a lock, of course – he has a long way to go to become a core piece of the team – but the Clippers have no reason to trade him and every reason to try to get him signed to a longer-term deal in the next year.

2026 Clippers Exit Interview: Kobe Sanders
Robert Flom

Our exit interview series on the 2026 Clippers continues with promising rookie center Yanic Konan Niederhauser.

Basic Information

Height: 6’11

Weight: 242 pounds

Position: Center

Age: 23

Years in NBA: 1

Key Regular Season Stats (for Clippers): 4.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 0.3 assists, and 0.7 blocks in 10.3 minutes per game across 41 games played (0 starts) on 64/20/75.9 (0.1 3PA, 1.5f FTA) shooting splits (69.1 True Shooting)

Expectations

There were basically no expectations for Yanic coming into the season. While he was 22 years old on draft night, the report on Yanic coming out of college was that he was a very raw, toolsy prospect that was not ready for the intricacies of NBA play. Add onto that the presence of a workhorse starting center in Ivica Zubac, an immensely experienced backup in Brook Lopez, and a small-ball center option in John Collins, and the idea that Yanic would play real minutes outside of garbage time or in the odd injury-plagued game seemed far-fetched in the preseason. Most people thought Yanic would spend most of the season in the G-League getting reps and working his way through the Clippers system that way.

Reality

Reality followed expectations to start the season. Yanic was out of the rotation, though he appeared fairly regularly early on anyway due to the Clippers’ disastrous losing ways and their tendency to get blown out of games. In his appearances early in the season, Yanic looked just as raw as everyone thought he would, though his sheer size, athleticism, and effort were on display every time he checked in.

Things shifted for Yanic in late December, when Ivica Zubac went out with an injury for a handful of games. During that time, Brook Lopez was promoted to the starting unit and Yanic entered the rotation proper as his backup. After a few games without much impact, Yanic had monster back to back performances (albeit against the Kings and Jazz), with an 18 point, 6 rebound game followed by a 6 point, 10 rebound outing. When Zu came back, Yanic departed the rotation once more, though he had a huge 16 point game against the Wizards in mid-January while shooting 7-7 from the field.

By this point, fans had become enchanted by the possibility of Yanic, who was just so much more athletic and forceful than Brook Lopez (or Ivica Zubac). Thus, when Ivica Zubac was traded, while the prevailing fan sentiment was sadness over the departure of the longest-tenured player on the team, there was also a strong fan interest in seeing Yanic get a lot more minutes down the stretch of the season.

Yanic played 17 games in a row from January 25 through March 4, when he injured his foot and was later ruled out for the rest of the season with a Lisfranc fracture. During that time, Yanic continued to show flashes of real impact, with a particularly impressive showing on February 8 against the Wolves (15 points, six rebounds) being the standout. Yanic was still raw in terms of defense, with issues defending more physical players and committing silly fouls, but his ability to get offensive rebounds, block shots around the rim, and play with consistent energy was extremely valuable. It was still a small sample size in the grand scheme of things, but it was enough to get fans excited for what Yanic would provide in year two.

Future with Clippers

Yanic is on a standard first-round rookie deal, which means next season is guaranteed (for $2.88M) and then the Clippers have team options for his third year ($3.02M) and fourth year ($5.45M). Considering the promise of his rookie season, even with the Lisfranc injury, it’s a lock the Clippers will pick up his third season option when the time comes for them to do so in fall. After that, who knows, but there’s no reason to think Yanic won’t be given the next couple of years to develop on the Clippers. Whether he becomes the franchise starting center is a harder question, but he will probably be given opportunities to claim that role in the seasons to come.

2026 Clippers Exit Interview: Yanic Konan Niederhauser
Robert Flom

I will be doing a series of previews for the different prospects that the Clippers might take at 5 in the 2026 Draft, which will hopefully include all of the most probable targets. First up, the current mock draft favorite for the Clippers, Keaton Wagler.

Basic Information

Position: Point Guard

Height: 6’5

Weight: 188 pounds

Wingspan: 6’6.25

Age on draft day: 19.4

College: Illinois

Stats: 17.9 points, 4.2 assists, 5.1 rebounds, 0.9 steals, and 1.8 turnovers in 33.9 minutes per game across 37 games played (all starts) on 44.5/39.7/79.6 shooting splits (5.9 3PA, 5.8 FTA)

Overview

Keaton Wagler had the most meteoric rise of any player projected towards the top of the NBA Draft, moving from outside the ESPN top 100 prospects list to a lock to be selected in the lottery as a freshman. He guided an Illinois team to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament and a 28-9 record by leading the roster in scoring, assists, steals, and three-point makes while coming through in big moments. It’s not like I pay much attention to high school rankings, but I know who all the big players are coming into each college season, and had never heard so much as a mention of Wagler pre-season. His 2026 campaign was absolutely good enough to warrant his draft status – but how will he translate to the NBA?

Strengths

Wagler’s best strength in his long college season was definitely his scoring ability. 18 points per game might not seem like a ton to NBA fans, but that’s a lot in college, and Wagler was able to score those points on exceptional 59.6% True Shooting. He was a terrific three-point shooter at high-volume, and took many of those threes on his own self-creation through stepbacks and off pick and rolls. Despite his lack of pure straight-line quickness, Wagler also drew a lot of free throws, bolstering his efficiency. Wagler has an adept bag for his age level, with a crafty handle that enables him to create separation and get by defenders on the way to the rim. He’s almost never explosive, but he was a consistent bucket-getter against really tough college competition.

Wagler was also his team’s lead playmaker. Again, 4.2 assists might not be a lot in the NBA, but that is a solid figure in college, where scoring is lower and offensive outputs can be minimal on a game-to-game basis. He’s not exactly Chris Paul or Steve Nash, but his height enables him to make passes all over the floor, and he’s able to complete reads in the pick and roll, on kick-outs to shooters, and in transition. Having that scoring and playmaking load while only turning the ball over 1.8 times per game is extremely impressive, though lack of turnovers does also tie into Wagler not delivering as daring passes as some of his competitors.

There are intangibles as well. Wagler was the best player and leader on an Illinois team that outperformed expectations throughout the season. That command of a team is exactly what you want to see from a point guard. The ability to be the driving force behind winning, even at the college level, is nothing to be sneezed at. Wagler also does all of the little things, including rebounding, in a way that not all of his college peers do.

Weaknesses

There are not many statistical weaknesses with Wagler, who had incredible production and advanced metrics for a freshman in a tough college conference. The downsides for Wagler are fairly obvious: he does not possess exceptional quickness, leaping ability, or speed for an NBA guard, and those limitations could impact him in various ways at the NBA level. His steal rate was pretty low for a college guard of his caliber, and that does probably showcase some of that lack of functional athleticism.

There are questions about Wagler being able to break down set defenses due to the lack of speed, even with his ballhandling and craftiness. The finishing around the rim could be tough due to the lack of strength and explosiveness – he had no dunks in college. Guards that can’t get to the rim, score at the rim easily, or consistently create advantages for teammates simply can’t be lead options; and you would ideally like the guard you take at 5 overall to be that sort of player.

People often talk about floor and ceiling when it comes to the draft, and I think it is a valuable way to view players even though I usually think of them in terms of likely floor and likely ceiling as well as highest ceiling and lowest floor. Wagler’s lack of athleticism means he has a low floor to me – it is feasible he just can’t create or guard at a reasonable enough level in the NBA and is just a bench guard, or even out of the league. However, I don’t view those athleticism concerns as limiting ceiling – many of the NBA’s stars of the past decade have not had conventional top-line athleticism (Shai, Jokic, Luka, Brunson, etc.) Thus, I think Wagler could be a star, or just a strong starting-level player that hangs around the NBA for many years as an impactful piece. There are just easy ways you could see him not panning out.

Fit with Clippers

After draft lottery night, when the Clippers officially secured the 5^th pick in the draft, Wagler was immediately the primary player chosen for them in mock drafts due to being the tallest of any of the guards mocked in the 5 to 9 range and thus the best fit next to Darius Garland. As the combine measurements came in, that certainty changed, with Wagler coming in with a below-average wingspan and at a very light weight that possibly disputed his ability to play with Garland. Wagler still has the height to play more as an off-guard, and is young enough that he could still put on weight/muscle as he ages into his mid-20s.

In terms of skillset, Wagler was definitely an on-ball presence for the Illini, but his incredible shooting (40% from three on 5.9 attempts per game) should allow him to play off-ball as well. He brings some rebounding that the Clippers could desperately use from the guard spot, and is a crafty scorer and bucket getter that should bolster their bench scoring early in his career (I’d imagine he starts off the bench for the Clippers barring a massive roster blowup). While there are definitely fit issues between him and Garland, I think he’d be one of the better fits of the top-ranked guards, and is certainly a viable prospect at 5.

Clippers 2026 Draft Prospect Preview: Keaton Wagler
Robert Flom

Our exit interview series on the 2026 Clippers continues with Brook Lopez, the backup center that received a promotion to starter mid-season with the Zubac trade.

Basic Information

Height: 7’1

Weight: 282 pounds

Position: Center

Age: 38

Years in NBA: 18

Key Regular Season Stats (for Clippers): 8.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.6 steals, and 1.2 blocks in 21.8 minutes per game across 75 games played (40 starts) on 42.8/36/75.7 (4.2 3PA, 1.0 FTA) shooting splits (55.2 True Shooting)

Expectations

The biggest name the Clippers added last summer was Bradley Beal, the most nostalgic addition was Chris Paul, and the highest upside new face was John Collins, but the new player a lot of Clippers’ fans were most excited about was Brook Lopez. The Clippers had cycled through a seemingly endless series of awful, bad, or at best mediocre big men since letting Isaiah Hartenstein walk in the summer of 2022, a move that haunted the Clippers for years. Brook promised to change that. A starter for almost his entire career, Brook was coming off a pretty good season for the Bucks as the third-best player on a solid playoff team. Thus, it seemed quite reasonable that with a smaller role off the bench for the Clippers behind Ivica Zubac, Brook could be a highly productive backup center contributing three-point shooting on offense and excellent rim protection on defense while still being a functional starter if Zu ever missed time.

Reality

Expectations were raised when Brook was reportedly the best player on the court for much of training camp and then played very well in preseason. Brook looked just like he did for his Bucks tenure, and his ability to score in the post, shoot from deep at high volume, and defend the paint seemed like a great fit for what the Clippers needed.

Unfortunately, Brook was a big factor in the Clippers’ early season woes. Much like Chris Paul, all of his energy and mojo from the preseason did not carry over to when the games actually mattered. Brook looked unbelievably slow, with his inability to get up and down the court playing a large role in the Clippers’ transition defense being a disaster. On offense, Brook was cold from three at the very start of the year, and even as he started heating up, he wasn’t taking enough threes to really punish defenses. Things got so bad that when the Clippers were in the middle of their worst stretch of the season, Brook was benched for six games, from November 25 to December 5. He then played a few minutes in two more games before another DNP-CD.

Brook’s season, and the Clippers’, changed on December 20, when Ivica Zubac left a game against the Lakers due to injury. Brook stepped up in a major way, playing his most minutes (24:52) of the season to beat the Lakers and break a five-game losing streak. Brook moved into the starting unit as Zu missed the next six games, and the Clippers, for the first time all season, found some rhythm, winning all five of Brook’s first starts. As silly as it was, there was some controversy about the starting spot, with certain fands wondering if Brook’s outside shooting opened up the offense enough to warrant him starting over Zu. That did not happen, and after one more start, Brook moved back to the bench when Zu returned in early January.

January was a good month for the Clippers, but Brook’s numbers were quite dreadful, averaging 4.9 points on horrendous 30.1/22.9 shooting splits. His defense was impactful, but the offense lagging meant a lot of minutes for Ivica Zubac. When Zu was traded before the deadline, Brook was moved into the starting unit. There were points when the rookie Yanic Konan Niederhauser seemed to be overtaking him, but then Yanic was ruled out for the rest of the season, and Brook played huge minutes the rest of the way. Ultimately, Brook was fine the last third of the season in the starting role, with his numbers more less looking similar to those in his last couple of seasons in Milwaukee.

Brook, unfortunately, was a good example of stats not matching the eye test. When you look at his per 36 numbers, his stats from this season are actually very much in line with his later Milwaukee seasons from a pure production standpoint. However, actually watching Brook play this year was painstaking (at least for me). Him probably being the single slowest player in the NBA was torturous to see in regards to loose balls, rebounds, and transition play. There were games where he hit threes or cooked in the low post, and his defense in the paint was pretty good the last half of the season. Objectively, he was a fine rotation center. But the two-point shooting and mobility falling off a cliff was a real reason the Clippers disappointed this year, even if Brook was able to salvage his season down the stretch.

Future with Clippers

The Clippers have a team option for Brook at a little under $9.2M. Quite honestly, I have no idea whether they’ll pick it up or not. Brook was *ok* for most of the year as a backup center, and that’s not a horrible overpay for a reliable backup big man. He’s also a beloved teammate and locker room presence that the Clippers could use as they continue moving towards a younger roster. On the other hand, he’s really old and having slipped quite significantly already from the prior season, it’s very possible he’s truly unplayable next season if he loses another half-step. The Clippers will be waiting for youngster Yanic Konan Niederhauser to recover from Lisfranc surgery (he probably won’t be ready until a couple months into the season), so they’ll be short at big man if they decline Brook’s option and move on. I would rather the Clippers moved on from Brook, but I think there’s a decent chance he’s back on the team next year. If so, hopefully he’s in a much smaller role than he was this past year.

2026 Clippers Exit Interview: Brook Lopez
Robert Flom

It’s been a couple of days since the NBA Draft Lottery, so a bunch of updated mock drafts are out. Here’s a roundup of five mock drafts and who they have the Clippers selecting with the 5^th pick.

ESPN: Keaton Wagler

“Wagler led Illinois all the way to the Final Four to cap one of the more remarkable prospect rises ever, entering the season as a curiosity for scouts and finishing as a bona fide top talent in an exceptional lottery class. While scouts expect it will take time for him to add strength and adjust physically to the NBA, the fact that Wagler is 6-foot-6, plays with change of pace and adds value at both guard positions points to major long-term upside as his body matures and he gains experience. His unusual trajectory and rapid improvement bode well.”

The Athletic: Keaton Wagler

“Wagler is probably the best fit with his size and ability to shoot off the catch. He is unequivocally this year’s biggest draft riser and maybe the biggest draft riser in the one-and-done era after leading Illinois to the Final Four.

Wagler was ranked outside the top 150 in the 2025 recruiting class but is a wildly impressive guard who can generate shots both for himself and his teammates, thanks to a crafty, creative handle and outstanding feel for the game. Illinois moved him to the lead guard position on Dec. 6; from that point, he averaged 19.1 points, five rebounds and 4.9 assists while shooting 45 percent from the field, 41 percent from 3 and 79 percent from the line.

Wagler is not very quick-twitch with his first step, and he has very little vertical explosiveness. He’s also not all that strong. But he uses the threat of his pull-up jump shot better than any player in the class and plays with an incredibly rhythmic, well-paced tempo that makes it hard for opponents to stay in front of him.”

SB Nation: Keaton Wagler

“Wagler entered Illinois as the No. 150 recruit in the rankings, and left as a lock to be a top-10 draft pick after just one season. The freshman started to ascend once he was moved into an on-ball role mid-way through the season, which allowed him to flash his fantastic pull-up shooting chops, his capable playmaking, and his turnover avoidance. Wagler loves to get into his step-back three, especially when a big switches onto him, but he’s equally adept at spacing the floor and shooting it with range off the catch. He’s not exactly Tyrese Haliburton as a passer, but the Illini guard was able to hit his talented teammates in stride all year while avoiding costly live-ball turnovers. There are still moments where you can see why Wagler was so under-the-radar as a recruit. He’s not a great athlete, and ended the year with zeros — a shocking stat for a 6’6 one-and-done lottery pick. He didn’t do much on defense, though that could be partially explained with Illinois’ conservative scheme that finished dead-last in defensive turnover rate. Do teams trust him to drive and finish at the rim against NBA athletes? Wagler’s skill set still feels pretty malleable as a tall guard who can shoot and won’t make a bunch of mistakes. This is the best story in this draft class, and it keeps getting better.”

Yahoo Sports: Keaton Wagler

“Though the Clippers traded for a younger guard in Darius Garland, Wagler makes the most sense here. At 6-foot-6, he can play with or without the ball and proved that last year in college. But he quickly became the orchestrator of a high-powered Illinois offense with his high-IQ playmaking and crafty scoring. Then he scored 46 at Purdue against a top-ranked team in the country — the most points by any freshman in Big Ten history. Then he kept rolling, and led the team to an unexpected Final Four appearance. Next to Garland, there’d be less pressure on him to be the man right away — which could be beneficial for his development. To become an NBA star, Wagler needs to overcome a lack of traditional athleticism after logging zero dunks as a freshman. But the best case is that his feel for the game is enough for him to continue ascending.”

The Ringer: Brayden Burries

“Somehow, the Clippers manage to come away from the Ivica Zubac trade with an exciting young talent, on top of all the other useful stuff they picked up at the deadline. But their midseason acquisition of Darius Garland makes you wonder whether they’ll shy away from the many smaller guards projected in this range. Burries, on the other hand, would be a dynamic partner for Garland who could cross-switch onto scoring guards. The Arizona freshman is a capable offensive player himself, and he could slot in immediately should they decide against re-signing Bennedict Mathurin. Burries is a winner, plain and simple, and he would hit the ground running for the Clippers.”

Well, four out of five sites currently have the Clippers taking Wagler with their pick. On first blush, Wagler is the obvious choice – he’s the tallest of the guards currently slotted in the 5-9 range on draft boards, and probably the one best suited to playing off ball (Burries is a close second). At the same time, he’s probably only mocked here so frequently precisely because he is the obvious choice on paper. In other words, I doubt any of these mocks are intel based, at least so soon after the lottery. We will see in the coming weeks, as interviews and workouts and scrimmages take place, how things adjust.

2026 Mock Draft Roundup: Immediate Post Lottery Edition
Robert Flom

Our exit interview series on the 2026 Clippers continues with James Harden, the team’s former star point guard.

Basic Information

Height: 6’5

Weight: 220 pounds

Position: Point Guard

Age: 36

Years in NBA: 17

Key Regular Season Stats (for Clippers): 25.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 8.1 assists, 1.3 steals, and 3.7 turnovers in 35.4 minutes per game across 44 games played (all starts) on 41.9/34.7/90.1 (8.8 3PA, 8.5 FTA) shooting splits (59.8 True Shooting)

Expectations

Expectations for James Harden were quite high coming off a jubilant 2025 campaign that marked a return to form for the 11-time All Star, as Harden not only earned his first All-Star nod since 2022, but also received All-NBA team recognition for the first time since 2020 and even got down-ballot MVP votes. With the additions of Bradley Beal, Chris Paul, John Collins, and Brook Lopez, the Clippers seemed primed to both give Harden additional ballhandling support as well as provide extra tools for him to make magic happen on the offensive end as the Clippers’ primary creator. The idea was for Harden to play fewer minutes and probably compile less gaudy on-paper stats, but to be more efficient and have more gas left in the tank for a postseason run. Despite Harden’s advancing age, not much consideration was given to an age-related decline due to the strength of his 2025 season.

Reality

As discussed through the exit interviews completed so far, almost none of that went according to plan. The guards that were expected to give Harden a breather – Paul, Beal, Bogdan Bogdanovic – were all either injured, ineffective, or both, forcing Harden into playing the same number of minutes with a higher usage rate compared to his 2025 season. Despite the taxing load, Harden remained largely excellent on the court, combining his playmaking brilliance with a much higher scoring average and his usual superb efficiency to keep the Clippers at least competitive during their disastrous first third of the season. Harden’s November, in particular, was insane, as he scored 29.8 points per game with 6.3 rebounds and 8.5 assists for good measure on exception 62.6% True Shooting. The team was losing, and Harden’s defense and turnovers were a part of that, but it was a heroic effort by Harden despite the team’s woes around him. With the Clippers in collapse, trade rumors started to swirl around the team’s core pieces, including Harden.

Harden’s numbers trickled down in December and January, but that had less to do with his declining play and more due to the Clippers getting healthier and better around him, with Kawhi Leonard in particular handling more of the scoring as the Clippers started to get into a groove. The Clippers began pushing into the postseason picture once more, and trade rumors gradually died down.

Then, all of a sudden, trade rumors revved up again seemingly out of nowhere, with the Cavaliers linked heavily to Harden at the end of January. Harden sat the next couple of games as the Clippers and Cavaliers negotiated, with the trade being consummated in early February just before the trade deadline. The Harden trade came as a shock to fans, who were starting to enjoy Clippers’ basketball again and were hoping for another run to the postseason in a shaky Western Conference. Reporting on the situation was mixed, with some outlets indicating a Harden trade request, others suggesting the Clippers initiated trade talks, and third opinions that the trade was a mutual discussion.

Regardless of why the trade happened, initial analysis from basically everyone was that it was a good move from all involved. The Clippers got significantly younger to help pivot to a post-Kawhi future, the Cavs got better and healthier this season for a playoff push, and Harden got to go to a team with postseason aspirations that might be more likely to pay him than the Clippers. And, honestly, it’s mostly played out that way. The Clippers faltered a bit down the stretch and Garland was inconsistent, but it’s undeniable that the Clippers have a brighter future now with him than they would have with Harden. The Cavs are in a competitive second round series, and despite his foibles, Harden is a big part of that.

Future with Clippers

It is unlikely James Harden has any future with the Clippers. While the Hall of Fame guard and the Clips parted on relatively good terms, the break up was mutual and made sense: the Clippers now have a much younger point guard in his prime as their centerpiece in Darius Garland, and Harden can go somewhere to either get paid or contend for a championship in ways the Clippers can’t offer. With Harden nearing the end of his career and the Clippers moving into a different phase of their franchise, the possibility of a reunion is pretty low. It’s not impossible – there’s a world where Harden returns in a few years as a bench guard if the Clippers are contenders again by that time – but feels unlikely. Harden spent less than three years with the Clippers, but he made a lot of fans in Los Angeles and was a true presence for the team in a way they’ve rarely had. I’m still rooting for him.

2026 Clippers Exit Interview: James Harden
Robert Flom

Dr. Shap and I did a quick podcast (linked below, and also available on all major podcast platforms) on the Clippers getting the 5th pick in the 2026 Draft due to some draft lottery luck from the Ivica Zubac trade. We discussed how the Clippers getting this pick effects the overall trajectory of the franchise, with particular focus on whether this impacts the future of Kawhi Leonard. After that, we reviewed the top prospects in the draft as well as the players who are most frequently mocked in the Clippers’ range, and gave some brief thoughts on which of those guys we prefer.

If you want some Clippers’ podcast optimism after a very tough year, this will be the pod for you! This is a franchise-changing evening for the Clippers that could transform the entire future of the team, both in terms of decision-making and the actual player that’s selected. Get ready for a lot of draft content in the weeks to come.

The Clippers Get the 5th Pick!!

TLTJTP: Clippers Get The 5th Pick in the 2026 Draft
Robert Flom