The 2023 NBA Draft takes place on Thursday, June 22, as both rounds are wrapped up in one night. As it approaches, TGH will be taking a quick look some teams’ draft strategies, and shedding some light on what direction they will go with their picks.. Here is the Los Angeles Clippers NBA Draft profile for 2023.
The Clippers finished their season with a record of 44-38 (third in the division, fourth in the Western Conference). Despite staying relatively healthy throughout the year, their two stars went down in the first round of the playoffs, leading to an exit in five games at the hands of the Suns.
The Clippers have two picks in the 2023 NBA Draft.
First Round (one pick):
Second Round (one pick):
Pick #30: Emoni Bates, F, Eastern Michigan
Many mock drafts have Bates as the primary target for the Clippers at the end of the first round. However, his draft stock began much lower than it is now. He’s played and scouted his way up the board starting at the NBA Draft combine. Truth be told, it’s a decent pick to give them some depth behind the oft-injured and/or oft-resting George and Leonard duo.
Bates is a pure shooter that loves to fill it up often. He was given nothing but green lights in college, scoring over 19 points per game, and hitting 40 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes. He’s definitely going to have to leave behind his ball-hog mentality at the next level, but as pure scorers go, Bates is a decent bet. At 6-foot-8, he could also play a combo forward role if he packs on some muscle in his first few years.
Pick #48: Colin Castleton, C, Florida
There’s a case to make that Castleton won’t be drafted at all during the 2023 NBA Draft. Although, given how lean this particular draft is at center, there are some teams that may want to reach a bit to scoop him up.
During his last season at Florida, Castleton averaged 16 points, 7.7 rebounds and a huge three blocks per game. At almost 7-feet tall, he’s a very balanced player right now. Combining low post scoring effort, rebounding potential and rim protection into what could be an NBA-ready package. He may be mediocre-to-bad outside of the paint, but as far as depth and youth behind Zubac next season, there are few downsides here.
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