Hoops Habit
Fansided

LA Clippers: Acquiring young players through the draft is necessary

By Albert Dadson

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 23: Brice Johnson shakes hands with Commissioner Adam Silver after being drafted 25th overall by the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 23, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 23: Brice Johnson shakes hands with Commissioner Adam Silver after being drafted 25th overall by the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 23, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Building through the draft is necessary and the LA Clippers have no first-round picks in the foreseeable future. This could be a recipe for disaster.

The LA Clippers have not been known to hit in the draft. Besides Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, most of the players that they recently drafted that turned out to be good players spent a short stint with the team in their first couple of years and then they were gone.

Names like Darius Miles, Shaun Livingston, Quentin Richardson and Lamar Odom were not with the team for very long and they had bigger impacts on other teams. They have been able to draft talent but they have not been able to see them grow in-house into stars.

More from Hoops Habit

Livingston had the devastating knee injury and was able to revitalize his career with the Golden State Warriors as an NBA champion. Quentin Richardson had a great career that saw him suit up for five different teams.

Lamar Odom was able to help the Los Angeles Lakers win championships late in the 2000s he bounced around also. Darius Miles was also a complimentary player that bounced around. You can even go in the past and look at who they drafted.

In 1976 the Clippers drafted Adrian Dantley with their first overall pick. Dantley had a Hall of Fame career but the Clippers only had him for one season. Back then they were the Buffalo Braves.

It looks like their draft woes will continue in the near future. The big Paul George trade saw the Clippers trade away five future first-round picks. That trade has paid dividends for this team presently but in the long run, they will pay for not being able to build young talent on this team.

The Golden State Warriors were a team that was built through the draft. Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green were all picked by the team in the draft and now they are a championship contender for years to come after already winning three rings.

The Philadelphia 76ers are a team that has built themselves off of investing in the draft. They were able to get their two superstars in Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons and they have been able to consistently stockpile picks which has led to their continued success.

Landry Shamet who is on the Clippers currently was one of their first-round picks used to get Tobias Harris on the team. Dario Saric was another one of their first-round picks and they used him to get Jimmy Butler.

Paul George and Kawhi Leonard have player options in the 2021-22 season so two years from now they may not be on the team if they have not won the championships they expect to win.

It is a great risk but it is a risk that any team would be worth taking. Anytime you can get a top-five talent in Kawhi Leonard and a superstar in Paul George you have to take that chance.

More from LA Clippers

The result is though that now they have no draft picks to build the team on in the future. It can come back and bite you in the long run. When you have young players they can be used as pieces to be traded for a player that can help your team.

They backed themselves into a corner by not having draft picks to acquire more pieces to build this team if their two stars stay. Some key role players for this team may not be on the roster next year.

The Cleveland Cavaliers when Kyrie Irving left the team are a recent team that comes to mind. They were put in a bad spot when they found out that their team was too old with the departure of the star guard.

They made a bad decision by replacing Irving with older players. Then when they realized they had to get young they basically traded away their whole team. Being young in the NBA is important. You have to have young pieces on your team that you are developing in case the worst happens.

This year the LA Clippers only have their second-round selection which is the 57th pick. That pick will not do much as it is a hit and miss in the second round. In fact, the Clippers do not have a first-round pick until 2027.

The Clippers’ future is dependent on Leonard and George’s decision. If they knew that they weren’t going to get them back they would have to trade them to get some kind of compensation for them. Losing those two players would be a great burden on this franchise.

An NBA team is always changing year after year. The way to stay consistent is to stay young. The LA Clippers with an already shakey draft history need to find a way to get young players to develop so they can be ready for the future.

Next. LA Clippers: Ranking the last 10 first-round picks. dark

Home/LA Clippers