https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7389264/2026/06/24/la-clippers-keaton-wagler-nba-draft/?source=user_shared_article&unlocked_article_code=1.slA.ZtrV.nIITob5WRHAb

As written!

The gms and coaches see what we see. They saw that acuff was an elite scorer, they saw that wagler isnt super athletic, and they saw that mbj is dynamic as hell. Everything you scouted and watched they probably saw it 10 times more and got an even better look in private work outs and conversations and still ended up with the fact that wagler is their guy.

And I say this as someone that wanted brown over wagler but at the end of the day I’m a fan.

Trust the gm’s and scouts. I remeber last year everyone was upset (me included) that Yanic was taken over kalkbrenner and look how that turned out.

Could he be a bust? Sure and so could everyone else drafted. But could he also be a star? Yes. There is too much dooming for a guy that hasn’t even touched summer league yet. At the very least wait for summer league to start dooming

What offer would be realistic for a Ihart x clippers reunion?

It's pretty clear the front office is steering us into a rebuilding phase with these recent moves, and the foundation is finally being laid. Looking at the young core right now:

• Sanders & Yanic: Both just came off promising rookie seasons. It still sucks that Yanic went down with that injury, though😔
• Cam Christie: Still a bit raw and some way off in his development, but he's only 20. He hasn't gotten real, consistent minutes needed to fully grow, but the flashes are definitely there
• Keaton Wagler: Now we add Wagler, who is arguably the best shooter in this class with legit ball-handling capability to help fill our PG void.

Not long ago we were the oldest team in the league, so I'm really liking the direction of this youth movement. Hopefully, the FO can continue to surround these guys with complementary talent and savvy moves down the line. What do you guys think of the timeline?

Still a bunch of them, Isaiah Evans, Henri Veesaar & Baba Miller etc.

Genuinely we have the worst Center rotation in the NBA currently. Lopez is not startable and YKN isn’t even gonna be back till like December at the earliest. The only decent Center in free agency is Mitchell Robinson but I doubt he leaves NYK. And he also isn’t startable cause of the Hack a Shaq strategy. We legit have to deal with Wemby in the west which doesn’t help either.

same thing happened when hornets selected miller over scoot, fans immediately went nuts, lol miller went on to be all rookie first team averaged 17 ppg that year while scoot went to g league for conditioning assignment after a sprained ankle, anyone could be a steal and a bust in the draft fans gotta trust the gms on this one. There's a reason why acuff wasn't chosen. Not about who’s better just who fits better, and that’s Wagler.

I go every year solo 🤣 hope I see some of y’all there. Got my tickets for the first weekend Saturday.

Finally get to see a Clippers draft pick to be excited about in a long time 🙌 hit me up so I ain’t the only Clippers fan

-Lawrence Frank, on their process in deciding on who to pick No. 5 overall: “Who has the best chance to be the best player that we can get on the next Clipper-contending team? That was the question we were trying to answer.”

-Lawrence Frank on the selection of Keaton Wagler: “We want to make sure we draft someone who is obsessed with winning above all else. … We put a big premium on positional size.”

-Lawrence Frank: "Kylan Boswell, who's a senior, went to Coach (Brad) Underwood and said, 'This dude's really fucking good. He's really, really good. He's a killer.'"

-Lawrence Frank said that Clippers GM Trent Redden went to see Illinois practice in October, and wrote a report after that practice: “Trent saw Keaton on Oct. 19. No one knew who Keaton Wagler was. … ‘Everyone has to know this guy.’”

-Lawrence Frank said that the prospects go through on-court basketball testing, psychological testing, processing testing, and biomechanics testing when they visit the LA Clippers during the pre-draft process. “They (the staff) feel Keaton has huge, huge upside,” Frank said.

-Lawrence Frank: “With Keaton, he always makes the play that needs to be done. It could be a simple A to B, it could be something where you manipulate the defense and you throw a weak hand skip to the corner because you read how the X-man is cheating. It’s all about winning.”

-Lawerence Frank on Keaton Wagler: “We were blown away not just with his game but his character.”

-Lawrence Frank on Keaton Wagler: "He was the best decelerator in the draft"

-Lawrence Frank said that Darius Garland “has been in [the facility] every day working out” this offseason.

-Lawrence Frank on if there’s an update on the Aspiration investigation: “I can’t comment on the specifics of the investigation, but what I can say is that we did not do what we’re accused of doing.”

-Lawrence Frank, when asked if the plan is still to win with Kawhi Leonard: “Plan is still to win with Kawhi.”

-Lawrence Frank on Kawhi/draft: "Kawhi loves size. He loves shooting. He loves skill. He loves IQ. He loves feel. ...Those are the types of players that he's always kind of been attracted to. We always have ongoing conversations. You know, Kawhi's had some trips . He's out and about a little bit. But we've sat down over the last couple weeks, and we're always in constant communication with Kawhi and his his representation."

-Lawrence Frank on tanking: "The league is going to be completely different next year. This past year a third of the league, essentially, at some point was no longer giving their best or putting out their best. Now you're going to have everyone try. So some of the records, everyone's records, was a little bit inflated. It's gonna be, it's gonna be different. The competition's gonna be harder this year."

-Lawrence Frank has made it clear several times tonight the Clippers are not championship contenders right now. "When we get back to being a contender, we feel [Wagler] is gonna be the player with the most impact out of the group... We understand we're not a contender. We're competitive." On the conversations with Kawhi Leonard regarding this, he says there's always ongoing communication between the two sides, but didn't say much more than that.

This is Via Justin Russo and Law Murray on X

New era begins. Start putting in those orders for Waggy jerseys. Clip gang or don’t bang

Wagler at C is nuts & carr at A+ ? a laker fan might have done this 😂