Rumor: The ‘chatter’ surrounding Clippers after stealing No. 5 pick from Pacers

The Los Angeles Clippers’ season ended in disappointment once again, but things quickly shifted to the NBA Draft Lottery with a chance to land the fifth or sixth pick in June’s NBA Draft. The Indiana Pacers were hopeful to keep that pick with a greater than 53 percent chance at landing a top four pick.

Unfortunately for the Pacers, luck was on the Clippers side, as the pick landed at No. 5 overall and conveying to Los Angeles as part of the Ivica Zubac trade. That immediately puts the Clippers on the clock.

Although the order is unknown, the consensus top four players are going to be AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer, and Caleb Wilson. After that is where the real NBA Draft begins at No. 5 and with the LA Clippers.

ClutchPoints’ Tomer Azarly and Brett Siegel discussed the potential for the Clippers to trade that pick.

“The Clippers landing No. 5 overall, again this is a guard-heavy draft once those forwards kind of go,” Tomer Azarly said. “You do wonder, are the Clippers a team that need a point guard? You’re talking about Darius Acuff Jr., you’re talking about Kingston Flemings. Do they take one of those guards? Those are star potential guards, and I think there could be a future for them in Los Angeles, but this is a team that also traded for Darius Garland and they want to remain competitive.”

Darius Garland, the 26-year old point guard, was acquired at the 2026 NBA trade deadline in a deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for 36-year old guard James Harden.

With Garland — a six-foot-two, 192 lb. guard — potentially being a part of the Clippers’ future, is there a need for another small guard? That’s what the Clippers need to determine.

“There’s some chatter about the Clippers exploring all their options, whether it’s going after one of these guards with their 5th pick, maybe it’s trading down so they don’t have to make the ultimate decision of who to select,” Siegel added. “Because the Draft really starts at that fifth pick. We know who the top four guys are, we just don’t know the firm order yet. It’s Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer, and Caleb Wilson. Those are the top four prospects in this draft. They could really god in any order.

“After that, the Draft opens up and the Clippers are going to set the stage for that next wave of guards, wht her you’re looking at Keaton Wagler, you’re looking at Mikel Brown Jr., Darius Acuff Jr., Kingston Flemings. You don’t necessarily want to be the guy to make the decision between four really good guards and end up with the worst one of the four. Sometimes, executives want that decision to be made for them. Maybe they trade down, they get another future asset from a team like the Sacramento Kings who like Darius Acuff and would be open to trading up to five to get him. That could garner you some more assets if you’re the Clippers. That was what the Zubac trade was about, it was trading him to get future assets to recuperate what you lost in this era that you thought Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and James Harden were competing for a championship.”

The Clippers have until June 23rd, the day of the 2026 NBA Draft, to make a decision on that pick. Until then, a lot of calls will be made to try and gauge teams interest in the pick, potentially moving up or down in the draft.

The post Rumor: The ‘chatter’ surrounding Clippers after stealing No. 5 pick from Pacers appeared first on ClutchPoints.