The 5th pick might just be out of range.
The Los Angeles Clippers have some massive decisions coming their way this offseason.
The end of the season was not exactly the ending anyone at Intuit Dome wanted, but the summer outlook shifted fast when the Indiana Pacers' lottery pick fell to No. 5 and landed with Los Angeles.
That pick came from the February deadline deal that sent Ivica Zubac to Indiana, and it only conveyed because the Pacers dropped out of the top four.
NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that there is already "considerable curiosity" about whether the Clippers plan to keep or move the selection, with rival teams "working hard to gauge" where Los Angeles stands heading into draft night.
"The pick falls one turn too low to choose from what is a near-consensus foursome of top prospects," Fischer wrote, referring to AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cam Boozer and Caleb Wilson.
Those four will almost certainly come off the board before the Clippers ever get to the podium.
A Guard Does Not Solve the Problem
After that top group is gone, the draft gets guard-heavy in a hurry.
Darius Acuff Jr., Kingston Flemings and Keaton Wagler are all expected to be available around the fifth pick, but the Clippers already filled their point guard spot at the deadline when they brought in Darius Garland from Cleveland as part of the James Harden trade.
Garland put up 19.9 points and 6.4 assists across 19 games in Los Angeles, he is only 26 and has two All-Star nods on his resume.
Point guard is the one position on this roster that does not need help.
The real holes are elsewhere.
Kawhi Leonard averaged 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists across 65 games while shooting 50.5 percent from the floor, and he can still carry a team when healthy.
The problem is everything around him.
Zubac is gone, Bradley Beal barely played, and the roster badly needs wing length and frontcourt depth that another ball handler is not going to provide.
Trading Back a Few Spots Makes Sense
The draft board at five does not match what the Clippers are missing, and that mismatch is exactly why sliding back a couple spots could make sense.
Drop to seven or eight, pick up a future first-round pick or a young rotation piece from a team trying to move up for one of those guards, and still come away with a solid prospect in what scouts keep calling one of the deepest drafts in years.
The Kings at No. 7 or Trail Blazers at No. 8 feel like the most natural trade partners here.
Leonard turns 35 in late June and he is heading into the final year of a $50.3 million deal.
The front office has real decisions to make about where this whole thing is going, and moving back a few spots while adding an extra asset might be the smartest play Lawrence Frank can make with this pick.
