Good Morning, Illini Nation: Where would Keaton Wagler fit?
· Yahoo Sports
Jun. 19—Keaton Wagler won't be in the Barclays Center green room long Tuesday night in Brooklyn, N.Y. The one-and-done Illinois guard has maintained high enough draft stock that he shouldn't last past the 10th pick. Odds are he goes even earlier, with these three teams with picks Nos. 5, 6 and 7 his likeliest destinations:
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Los Angeles Clippers
Darius Garland was the Clippers' return for dealing James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the 26-year-old point guard averaged 19.9 points and 6.4 assists in 19 games in Los Angeles. Wagler could be the missing piece in the Clippers' lineup as a bigger guard to play next to Garland with the shooting ability to play off the ball and skill to be a secondary playmaker. The unknown factor rests with Los Angeles' intent. If the Clippers are in "win now" mode with Kawhi Leonard entering the final year of his contract, they could use the fifth pick as trade bait to try and land another star.
Brooklyn Nets
Should Brooklyn spend more first-round capital on a point guard? It's a legitimate question given how last year's draft played out with the Nets using three of their four first-round picks on Egor Demin, Nolan Traore and Ben Saraf. Going with the best player available basically assures another guard winds up in Brooklyn whether it's Wagler or not, as using the No. 6 to draft for need is a riskier investment. But maybe it's a need. None of the Nets' rookie guards had bad debut seasons, but none of them established themselves as the top option either. There's an opportunity for Wagler to make that claim.
Sacramento Kings
Sacramento has basically punted at point guard the last two seasons, trading De'Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs last February and Dennis Schroder to Cleveland this January. The only for sure rostered option is Devin Carter, who started the final 10 games of the season, and Killian Hayes could return if the Kings pick up his 2026-27 option. Neither feels like a long-term answer. Spending the No. 7 pick on Wagler would mean making that kind of investment in the Illinois guard. Wagler would clearly fill a position of real need in a lineup with Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Domantas Sabonis.