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2024 Clippers Mock Draft Roundup
The 2024 NBA Draft is now less than a week away, so let’s do
a quick round up of who all the most plugged-in draft writers have the Clippers
taking with the 46th pick.
ESPN: Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo (Updated June 19)
Clippers Pick: Ajay Mitchell (22 year old point guard, UC Santa Barbara)
Bleacher Report: Jonathan Wasserman (Updated June 19)
Clippers Pick: Justin Edwards (20 year old wing, Kentucky)
Explanation: “Justin Edwards hit mid-range jumpers and a step-back three in the combine’s opening scrimmage before missing his outside shots and struggling in the second scrimmage.
He isn’t advanced enough in any one offensive area for teams to confidently draft him with a first-round pick. He’ll remain in the second-round conversation for teams willing to bet on shotmaking improvement to complement his athleticism and defensive tools.”
The Athletic: Sam Vecenie (Updated June 5)
Clippers Pick: Jonathan Mogbo (22 year old big man, San Francisco)
Editor’s Note: Vecenie updated his mock this morning, and now has the Clippers taking Oso Ighodaro, a 21 year old big man from Marquette who has favorable analytics
Yahoo Sports: Krysten Peek (Updated June 17)
Clippers Pick: Jamal Shead (Almost 22 year old point guard, Houston)
The Ringer: Kevin O’Connor (Updated June 17)
Clippers Pick: Kevin McCullar Jr. (23 year old wing, Kansas)
Explanation: “The Clippers could use someone with some bite, especially at the wing and forward spots. McCullar would fit what they need, providing a versatile defender to replace Paul George if he leaves in free agency.”
Summary
There is very little commonality across these picks. Not only do none of the writers have the same pick for the Clippers (that does sometimes happen), but the picks include two point guards, two wings, and a big man. Four of the five prospects are older, but that could be more just that prospects in the mid-40s tend to be older and less from any draft philosophy from the Clippers.
Overall, none of these names are that exciting – but it’s also very hard to get exciting names at 46 in a weak draft. Overall, I’d probably like Mogbo the best of these guys, as I think he’s close to a first round talent. Edwards is by far the youngest and has some promise but I don’t think he’s close to ready to contribute. I’ve talked about Shead in my PGs article – he was an awesome college player, but I don’t think he’s nearly good enough as a scorer to make an impact in the NBA.
Ajay Mitchell is a guy I like quite a bit too, he’s a dynamic scorer and playmaker and I think could be a solid NBA point guard. McCullar is a fifth-year player who had a relatively fine college career until this past season, when he exploded at Kansas. How much you believe in him depends on how much you value his breakout.
Overall, as always this far down in the draft, there’s not too much to hold onto here outside of getting a bit more familiar with some names. I will probably try to do one more of these before the draft, but we will see how much changes in the interim.