Which prospects could the Clippers reach or trade back to get?
The Los Angeles Clippers caught a break on lottery night.
After finishing the 2025-26 season at 42-40 and getting bounced from the play-in by the Golden State Warriors, the pick they pried out of Indiana in the Ivica Zubac trade slid right into the fifth spot, which is about the best outcome they were realistically going to get out of that deal.
Trading it would be a mistake.
Kawhi Leonard turns 35 this summer and is in the last year of his deal at $50.3 million, and Darius Garland is locked in long term but coming off an uneven 19-game stretch after the James Harden swap.
This is not the roster move where the Clippers go shop the pick for one more aging vet.
Not in a class this deep, and not when they barely control their own first-rounder again until 2030.
Why Trading the Pick Hurts
A top-five rookie on a four-year deal is a swing the Clippers have not had in forever.
Garland averaged 18.0 points and 6.4 assists with them while shooting 47.1 percent from the field, so giving him a young running mate that grows up next to him makes more sense than flipping the pick for somebody closer to the end than the start.
There is also the Kawhi Leonard trade chatter to think about, and holding the selection gives Lawrence Frank options no matter how that situation breaks.
Aday Mara Is Interesting
Aday Mara feels like a reach but could happen.
The 7-foot-3 Michigan center put up 12.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks on his way to a national title in April, shot 66.8 percent from the floor, and his passing out of the high post almost never shows up in a 7-3 frame.
He broke the Michigan single-season blocks record with 103 swats and walked away as Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
Zubac is in Indiana now, John Collins plays better at the four, Yanic Konan Niederhauser is dealing with a significant injury and Brook Lopez is 38 and clearly running on fumes.
Center is the spot that screams loudest.
Two Forwards Round Out the Group
Tennessee freshman Nate Ament is the next name worth circling if the Clippers decide to trade back.
The 6-10 wing averaged 16.7 points and 6.3 rebounds while starting all 35 games for the Vols, and he would give the Clippers another tall, skilled scorer to line up next to Leonard without bringing redundancy.
North Carolina's Caleb Wilson belongs on the list too if he miraculously slides out of the top four, since he can defend multiple frontcourt spots and block shots.
As this lottery breakdown lays it out, those are the realistic names.
A guard does not solve anything.
Garland is the lead guard now, so putting Keaton Wagler or Darius Acuff Jr. or Kingston Flemings into a backcourt that already has Bennedict Mathurin, Kobe Sanders, and Kris Dunn just piles more bodies into the same place.
Other prospect rundowns keep landing in the same neighborhood.
Lottery night gave them a real shot. They should use it on size, length, and physicality.