2026 NBA Draft Needs: Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers were incredibly fortunate in the NBA Lottery. The Pacers’ pick was protected 1-4 and 10-30, and it landed at the fifth spot. However, the Clippers are in a strange position. They have shed most of their veteran core over the past few years, but have retained Kawhi Leonard. This pick could either indicate the Clippers are looking to retool and give Kawhi one last playoff run, or they are moving toward a rebuild.

State of the Team

Retooling: Praying for Kawhi’s knees

Positional Strengths & Weaknesses

Guards:

The Clippers guard corps is Darius Garland, Bennedict Mathurin, Cam Christie, Bradley Beal, and Kris Dunn.

Trading 36-year-old James Harden for 26-year-old Darius Garland and trading Ivica Zubac for Bennedict Mathurin and what would end up being the fifth overall pick were great moves. The Clippers are rejuvenated. Darius Garland has been a borderline All-Star since his breakout 2022 season. He can manage an offense, generate assists, shoot the ball, and be the primary ball handler. He has the effort needed on defense, but his size limits him to being an average defender.

Bennedict Mathurin is a volume scorer through and through. He struggles to be efficient with a 57.5% true shooting percentage, which has kept him in a sixth-man role. He can start, but his value lies in providing instant offense for teams needing buckets. He is only 23 years old and can refocus his game, but there is a concern he could become a Cam Thomas type if his offense slips.

Cam Christie is still very early in his development at 20 years old. He is improving as a defender and refining his shot selection. With time, he could become a solid rotation piece as a defensive guard and pick up minutes as Kris Dunn ages. Bradley Beal has been hit hard by heavy regression over the past several years, and with the addition of Mathurin, his role could be absorbed. Last year’s season-ending injury could force him toward retirement if he doesn’t return strong. Dunn is a 32-year-old journeyman who has embraced the role of lead point-of-attack defender. He can still flow within an offense and contribute, but his value is rooted in his defensive effort.

Wings/Forwards:

The Clippers wing and forward corps is Kawhi Leonard, John Collins, Derrick Jones Jr., Kobe Sanders, Jordan Miller, Nic Batum, and Bogdan Bogdanović.

The Kawhi Leonard who dominated the world on the 2019 Raptors made an appearance this past year, suiting up for 65 games. Knee issues have plagued him since his years in San Antonio and have only limited him more since joining the Clippers in 2020. Leonard is one of the best players in the league when healthy, but he’s 34 years old, and he and the Clippers have been surrounded by controversy after last season’s reporting on third-party payments. If his knees hold up, Kawhi can lead a team on a deep playoff run.

John Collins has a threeball, defends well, sacrifices his own offense for others, and can be a dependable third or fourth option. However, he needs a new contract, the team has struggled to stay below the second apron, and the Clippers also need to re-sign Bennedict Mathurin. Derrick Jones Jr. is like Collins as a positive, smart, all-around player but leans defense over offense. As the 50th overall pick in last year’s draft, Kobe Sanders has been a surprise, playing 68 games and starting 16. He will be a rotational wing on a playoff team, but at 24 years old, he may be at his peak.

Jordan Miller isn’t the shooting threat the past three players are, but he has found a role as an off-the-bench, high-percentage cutting scorer. Ageless wonder Nic Batum is 37 years young and still provides value as an end-of-the-bench shooting specialist. Only 10 out of his 238 shots last year weren’t three-point attempts. Bogdan Bogdanoović is normally a steady shooting borderline starter or sixth man, but the hamstring strain he suffered at the 2025 EuroBucket was re-injured 22 games into the season. He’s 33 years old, so he may only begin returning to his old self late this coming season.

Bigs:

The Clippers big corps is Brook Lopez, Isaiah Jackson, and Yanic Konan Niederhäuser.

Lopez had a career resurgence with the Bucks, peaking when he finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2023. He is 37 now and can still start, but he would be better served coming off the bench. Isaiah Jackson came back in the Ivica Zubac trade and went back and forth with Jay Huff for the starting center job in Indiana. He is 24 and could still improve, following Lopez’s trajectory, but he doesn’t take threes and has middling defense. Yanic Konan Niederhäuser suffered a Lisfranc injury to his right foot halfway through his rookie season. Prior to the injury, he had shown growth with the minutes the Zubac trade opened up for him. Depending on his recovery, he could leapfrog Lopez and Jackson with a strong offseason bump.

Draft Needs:

The Clippers are between a rock and a hard place. Kawhi showed he still has some gas left in the tank. But at the same time, this roster doesn’t have the youth or upside for a deep playoff run. Beyond Darius Garland, most of their pieces are replacement-level starters with injury histories, defensive limitations, and advancing age. They have youth in players like Mathurin, Konan Niederhäuser, Jackson, Sanders, and Christie, but all of their “ceilings” project as average to above-average starters. One thing is certain: they need upside out of this year's draft.

Prospects Who Fit:

The Clippers hold the 5th, 36th, and 52nd overall picks.

Darius Acuff Jr. (PG/Guard, Arkansas)

Selecting Darius Acuff Jr. would be a clear sign the Clippers are looking to rebuild. At 6-foot-2, 186 pounds, with a 6-foot-6 wingspan, the 19-year-old Acuff is a NOS-boosted engine for any offense to run through. He is a pure point guard with a blazing 2.91 assist-to-turnover ratio, 6.4 assists to 2.2 turnovers. He has an exceptional feel for defenses and his teammates. He can drive and finish through contact with ease and shot the lights out with a 44% threeball on 5.8 attempts a night. His self-creation opened seams and burst stitches in the defense, allowing his teammates to cut, jump, jam lobs, as he can deftly hit them in the right spot.

Acuff’s passing should translate well to the NBA. He doesn’t just swing the rock around the perimeter; he has a lightness to his passes and puts them in reach of his teammates instead of firing it at them. His gifted passing mixes with his patient ball handling and tough drives into a swirling offensive powerhouse. The Clippers already have a similar player in Darius Garland, but Garland lacks Acuff’s size and passing instincts. Garland is savvier and could slide to shooting guard with his shooting ability.

Acuff isn’t a perfect prospect, and there is a reason he is a tier below the big three of this year's draft: Dybantsa, Peterson, and Boozer. Acuff is incredibly poor on defense. This has less to do with his size and more to do with his effort. Whether he expended too much energy on offense with his 29.5% usage rate or Arkansas never pushed him to develop that side of the game, he struggles to stay in front of ball handlers. On paper, he has a better physical profile than offense-heavy guards like Trae Young and Darius Garland, but what’s on paper versus his actual tape tells a different story.

The Clippers have the infrastructure to let Acuff adapt to the NBA. Garland plays a similar game; Mathurin is a similar scorer. Normally, stockpiling similar archetypes is a negative, but having players Acuff can model his game after could be a positive. He would have proven bucket-getters to pass to when he loses his rhythm and needs someone else to take over. Acuff needs a defensive system constructed around him, which would require several veterans to be moved, but his status as one of the top offensive engines on the market makes him a foundational piece to rebuild around.

Brayden Burries (Combo/Guard, Arizona)

Unlike Acuff, who needs a system built around him, Brayden Burries of Arizona slotted in with a veteran college team to great results. At 6-foot-4, 216 pounds, with a 6-foot-6 wingspan, Burries’ freshman year at Arizona showed the poise of a more veteran guard. He didn’t hog the ball. He accepted his role on offense and defense, and because of Arizona’s team buying in, they reached the Final Four before losing to the eventual champions, Michigan.

Koa Peat, Jaden Bradley, Motiejus Krivas, and Ivan Kharchenkov all scored over 10 points a night, while Burries led them with 16.1 points per game on 61.6% true shooting. On a 23.2% usage rate, he took a backseat more than most other scorers in the draft and trusted his teammates. This efficient scoring and willing buy-in make him an ideal prospect for the Clippers to add to a team of veterans.

Burries is not just a scorer. His 1.5 steals and 4.9 rebounds per night highlight his versatility. He switched with primary point-of-attack defender Jaden Bradley often and wasn’t afraid to take on the opposing team’s lead guard. His frame and athleticism aren’t that of a top defensive guard, but his energy and effort should make him the best defensive guard on the Clippers after Kris Dunn. The Clippers desperately want that sort of young energy and defense.

The Clippers need a player like Burries if they want to squeeze the last few drops of basketball out of Kawhi Leonard. Burries scores well: 49.1% from the field and 39.1% from beyond the arc. He’s switchable and will defend wings with intensity and effort. He filled gaps at Arizona, and because of it, they made it to the Final Four for the first time since the 2001 run to the Finals. Burries may not be the scoring phenom Acuff is, but a combo guard who can play with any lineup the Clippers throw out is a key piece to a deep playoff run.