Keaton Wagler, Baba Miller and Nick Martinelli all made strong cases in Las Vegas before the Clippers wrapped their Summer League schedule.
Summer League report cards are due in Los Angeles, and the Clippers' newest draft class turned in work worth keeping.
The franchise selected four players in June during its most active draft in years, and three of them spent the past two weeks in Las Vegas helping the team to a 3-2 finish that ended with a wild overtime win on Friday night.
With the roster in flux while the league sorts out the Kawhi Leonard situation, the rookies gave the front office real reasons to believe the retool has a foundation. Here is how each pick graded out in the desert.
Keaton Wagler Earns a B+
The No. 5 overall pick out of Illinois stumbled through a 1-of-7 shooting debut against Sacramento, then answered every question that followed.
Wagler dropped 23 points on the Jazz while outplaying No. 2 pick Darryn Peterson, rested against Washington, and closed with a team-high 26 in the finale, a 128-120 overtime win in which the Clippers scored a Summer League record 128 points, per NBA.com.
He averaged 18.0 points across his four appearances and already told reporters what he learned from the experience.
President of basketball operations Lawrence Frank has sounded thrilled since draft night.
"We were blown away, not just with his game, but with his character," Frank said.
The Second Round Delivered
Baba Miller takes a B+ after the No. 36 pick scored in double figures in every documented outing and finished with 15 points and six assists in the finale, production that helps explain why the team gave him a four-year contract.
Nick Martinelli was the most efficient Clipper in Las Vegas, following a 12-point, 10-rebound effort against the Lakers with 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting against Washington, and the No. 55 pick earns an A- along with the two-way deal he signed in July.
"He's very aggressive and you just feel his toughness out on the court," Summer League coach Jay Larranaga said of Martinelli.
Narcisse Ngoy takes an incomplete because the No. 57 pick stayed on a draft-and-stash track and will play college basketball at Auburn next season.
What the Class Means
The rookie showings arrive at a strange moment for the franchise, since the agreed trade sending Kawhi Leonard to Toronto remains on hold while the NBA finishes its investigation.
Last season's group went 42-40 and ninth in the West, and the projected backcourt now pairs Darius Garland with Wagler, who has already named Kevin Durant as the star he wants to test himself against.
Injuries add another wrinkle because 2025 first-rounder Yanic Konan Niederhauser is still working back from the foot trouble that ended his rookie year after 41 games.
Frank explained on draft night why the front office believed in Wagler, and two weeks in Las Vegas did nothing to argue otherwise.
