Los Angeles Clippers 2018 NBA Draft profile: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

With the 12th and 13th overall selections in the 2018 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Clippers could select Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from Kentucky.

The Los Angeles Clippers are in need of some young talent and an identity moving forward. As we get closer to the 2018 NBA Draft, that identity will become clearer. Once the draft hits, it will be safe to assume what direction the franchise is moving in going forward.

With two late lottery picks, the Los Angeles Clippers have the potential to find two sleepers or two duds. Of course, they could simply pick up some solid role players, but the Clippers need some fortunate moving forward. The team may be targeting prospects that have a ton of upside in the draft.

If that is the case, there is no better player to select than Kentucky’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is full of potential and should be available by the time the 12th overall pick rolls around.

Tankathon ranks Gilgeous-Alexander as the second best point guard in this draft class behind Oklahoma’s Trae Young.

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With only one year remaining on Patrick Beverley‘s deal and Milos Teodosic‘s long-term effectively unclear, the Clippers may be pressed to go with a point guard. If so, Gilgeous-Alexander will likely be the best one available.

Gilgeous-Alexander has the potential to be a great two-way player in the league. He excelled at both on-ball and off-ball defending in college and can use his agility and lateral quickness to keep up with even the fastest NBA guards.

Offensively, Gilgeous-Alexander had a knack for scoring the basketball.

Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 14.4 points, 5.1 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game last season with Kentucky. As the season went on, Gilgeous-Alexander only got better and better at scoring.

This is due to his ability to finish in peculiar ways at the rim and drive through traffic to get the bucket and the foul. Much like Kyrie Irving, Gilgeous-Alexander can change hands mid-drive and give fans acrobatic finishes at the rim. Gilgeous-Alexander also has a decent mid-range shot.

His basketball IQ is the final icing on the cake that seemingly would make Gilgeous-Alexander a wonderful player. He has great court vision, can move, cut and stop in an instant, can defend and can finish at the rim as a point guard. What else is there to want?

A three-point shot. The most important shot in today’s NBA and ultimately why Gilgeous-Alexander is not a top-five pick in this year’s draft class. Gilgeous-Alexander has virtually no three-point shot, at least no confidence in it, as he is only averaged 1.5 three-point shots a game, making 0.6.

That is a big red flag in today’s NBA, especially out of a shifty guard that lacks muscle mass (six-foot-six, 180 pounds). While Ben Simmons is helping break that mold, Simmons is also a physical specimen as well.

Next: Scouting report: Collin Sexton

Thus, Gilgeous-Alexander becomes an extremely promising prospect that has a ton of upside with perhaps the biggest glaring hole possible. If the Los Angeles Clippers want to invest in a project and develop a player to Doc Rivers‘ liking, Gilgeous-Alexander is the way to go.

All statistics courtesy of Sports-Reference.

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