The Los Angeles Clippers have radically reshaped their roster over the past year, but amongst their plethora of new, young talent, one name stands out as the player with the most promise and brightest future: guard Keaton Wagler.

As the fifth-overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, Wagler is the Clippers' highest draft pick since Blake Griffin was selected first-overall in 2009 and considering that fifth-overall pick was acquired by the Clippers in their trade of center Ivica Zubac to the Indiana Pacers, Wagler is representative of the new Los Angeles rebuilding effort.

They clearly recognize the impact that Wagler could have and the position that he holds considering how heavily he's been promoted by the team, including in a promotional video  styled after the hit 2026 horror movie Obsession, but as much as marketing may represent their opinion, actual time on the court represents that far better.

So far in preseason, Wagler has averaged 27.1 minutes per game and in that time frame has averaged 12 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, but the Clippers have taken their investment in Wagler a step further by now starting him next to guard Darius Garlund, representing two different sides of the Clippers' rebuild.

Garland is just 26-years-old himself, but with how young the Clippers are as a whole, he stands out as a veteran presence on the team, a role that he's embraced in stride, and just as Wagler offered hope for the future as the Clippers' premier first-round pick, Garland does the same as the team's imported star they acquired by trading James Harden.

So starting Garland and Wagler together isn't just a preview of a possible regular season starting duo, it's also a merging of the young and relatively old on the roster.

Garland's career with the Clippers started just a few months before Wagler's did and he's thrilled with the development he's seen from the young guard and even more thrilled to be sharing the backcourt with him.

“It was good. I’m happy for him just getting a home start," Garland said (via Joey Linn). "Having him out there on the floor, he feels that energy, feels that love from the crowd. He helps a lot. Bringing the ball up...It was really good out there. His confidence went up super high tonight. I loved that, first and foremost. Yeah, I mess with it.”

Putting Wagler in that position as a starter is a major sign of the Clippers' faith, even more so because they put him next to Garland, who is the guaranteed starter at his position for the team.

Showing Wagler their confidence in him and his abilities now translates into his own confidence in himself.

Should he turn out to either be the starting shooting guard by Opening Day or a heavily utilized bench player, he'll be able to embrace either role with the confidence of knowing he belongs on the roster and knowing that he can play alongside a former All-Star like Garland.