Los Angeles Clippers need Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to be a star

A lot is riding on Los Angeles Clippers rookie guard, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and he and the team may not even realize it yet.

The Los Angeles Clippers traded the 13th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft as well as two second-round picks to secure Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who the Charlotte Hornets selected with the 12th overall pick.

Gilgeous-Alexander fell to the 12th overall pick due to a top-heavy draft class at guard that included Luka Doncic, Trae Young and Collin Sexton ahead of him. However, Gilgeous-Alexander had the skill set and profile on draft night to warrant a top six or seven pick.

However, due to the guards in front of him as well as the crop of talented big men, he fell right into the Los Angeles Clippers’ hands, who were more than glad to take him. Even with a surplus of guards (although the team selected another guard in Jerome Robinson with the next pick) Gilgeous-Alexander was the right pick.

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That was obvious when Gilgeous-Alexander thrived at the NBA Summer League and looked like one of the most refined rookies to be taken. Now, he has rightfully inserted himself in the Rookie of the Year discussions.

And I must say, while it technically was not the 13th overall pick, Donovan Mitchell was selected with the 13th overall pick last season and is already a top-five shooting guard in the entire NBA.

It is unfair to expect that out of Gilgeous-Alexander, however, the Los Angeles Clippers are banking on him being successful in his first season. If not, the dreaded rebuilding process may actually have to occur.

However, if he exceeds, that opens the door for much more opportunities.

The Los Angeles Clippers do have room for two max contracts next offseason which, on paper, makes them a logical target for superstars. This is stronger with the connection to Kawhi Leonard and the possibility that he could bring someone alongside him to turn the Clippers back into one of the best teams in the Western Conference.

However, the problem with this much cap space is the Clippers have essentially no core to sell to a player like Leonard. Right now, the only non-rookies locked down past this season are Jawun Evans, Avery Bradley, Lou Williams, Sindarius Thornwell, Danilo Gallinari and Montrezl Harrell.

Milos Teodosic is a restricted free agent.

While there are some solid role players in that bunch, that is not a promising core for a superstar to come to and contend. The only two real producers in that list are Bradley and Williams, who will only get worse with age.

This is not a situation like the Los Angeles Lakers where the team built a solid young core of at least four players for someone like LeBron to fall back on. This is a roster that could potentially be stripped of all its assets with no one to spend the money on.

And whether you like it or not, the Clippers trading Blake Griffin (although it was the smart move) gave the team a very bad reputation with their loyalty. For someone like Leonard, who just had that fiasco in San Antonio, loyalty may be the number one factor.

Thus, while it is not impossible without a good showing, the Los Angeles Clippers are going to rely heavily on Gilgeous-Alexander to establish himself as a difference maker in year one to help attract a superstar.

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That is a lot to ask of a rookie, it is not every year that the league gets extremely polished rookies like Mitchell or Ben Simmons. However, without it, that rebuild will eventually happen.

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