Will Acuff Jr’ be the right fit?
The Los Angeles Clippers went 42-40 in 2025-26 and got bounced by the Golden State Warriors in the play-in.
But the midseason trade with Indiana handed them the fifth overall pick, and now the front office has to figure out what to do with it.
Every mock draft has the Clippers staring at a cluster of guards. Darius Acuff Jr., Kingston Flemings and Keaton Wagler are all projected in that five-to-eight window, and they all bring something different.
The issue is that two of them overlap with the guy already running the offense.
Garland Is the Franchise Guard
Darius Garland put up 18.8 points and 6.7 assists this season split between Cleveland and Los Angeles after the deadline deal.
In 19 regular season games as a Clipper, those numbers ticked up to 19.9 and 6.4, so the fit looked promising.
The catch is that Garland only played 45 regular season games all year because of a toe problem, and he has missed real time in three of his last four seasons.
That matters when planning for the draft.
Law Murray of The Athletic laid out the thinking on why the Clippers might need to go bigger at guard.
"Garland is the franchise point guard and in his prime, but the Clippers have ended each of the last two seasons without a true backup, which matters with Garland's durability concerns," Murray wrote. "The Clippers lack shooting depth, and though Mathurin is a restricted free agent, Bradley Beal has a player option, and Bogdan Bogdanović has a team option, the Clippers could consider a big guard."
Why Acuff Does Not Fit
Acuff averaged 23.5 points per game as a freshman at Arkansas and led the Razorbacks to the Sweet 16.
Nobody is questioning his talent.
He measured 6-foot-2 barefoot with a 6-foot-7 wingspan at the combine, but his game revolves around having the ball.
Put him next to Garland and the Clippers end up with two smaller guards who need touches in similar spots on the floor.
They went two straight seasons without a real backup point guard and it wore Garland down, so spending a top-five pick on another lead guard to sit behind him feels like a sideways move.
Bigger Options Make More Sense
Wagler keeps popping up in these conversations for a reason.
The 6-foot-6 Illinois freshman averaged 17.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists while shooting 39.7 percent from three and helping the Illini reach the Final Four.
He has the size to play next to Garland rather than behind him, and his shooting fills a hole the Clippers have been trying to patch for a while now.
Brayden Burries out of Arizona brings even more length and defensive tools without stepping on Garland's role.
The Clippers have not picked this high since Blake Griffin went first overall in 2009.
Whoever they take at five will shape the next few years of the franchise, and a small guard who duplicates Garland is not the answer.
