Clippers Were the Quiet Winners of NBA Draft Lottery

Good things can still happen to the Clippers.

For a franchise that has been second fiddle to the Lakers in Los Angeles for decades and snake-bitten with injuries in recent years, the organization got a rare win Sunday when it landed the No. 5 overall pick in June’s loaded draft. 

The team didn’t even have a representative on the lottery stage when the pick was announced, because the pick—acquired from the Pacers in February for Ivica Zubac—had to fall out of the top four in order to convey.

Clippers executive Rishabh Desai was in the drawing room and told The Athletic he wore a suit gifted to him by NBA legend Jerry West and longtime Clippers advisor for good luck. 

The result led Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard to apologize to Indiana fans. 

It will be the Clippers’ highest selection since drafting Blake Griffin No. 1 overall in 2009. It also comes as the league has still not announced its findings from its investigation into Kawhi Leonard and environmental startup Aspiration. 

The investigation into whether the Clippers used the failed company to funnel Leonard additional money and circumvent the league’s salary cap is still ongoing, a league spokesperson told Front Office Sports. 

The maximum possible penalties include a $7.5 million fine, the voiding of Leonard’s contract, and the stripping of multiple future draft picks. If Adam Silver did so, it would severely restrict the Clippers’ ability to build a competitive roster in a post-Leonard era.

Leonard, 34, has one year left on his current contract worth $50.3 million.

But the No. 5 pick gives the organization someone to build around if the NBA indeed hits it with the maximum penalties. That’s desperately needed, as L.A. does not fully control its own first-round picks until 2030. Because the Pacers pick was conveyed to the Clippers, Indiana now will fully retain its 2031 first-round selection. The Clippers would have netted the 2031 pick had the Pacers’ 2026 pick stayed in the top four. 

The Clippers also narrowly avoided more pain Sunday. In addition to getting the Pacers pick, their own pick landed at No. 12 overall. That pick belongs to the Thunder as a result of the 2019 Paul George trade and could have gone even higher for the defending champions.