Clippers Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank talks about the 2017 draft at the Clippers training facility in Playa Vista on Thursday, June 22, 2017. Thornwell marks the first Gamecock selected in the draft since 2006.
The Clippers purchased the No. 48 pick from the Milwaukee Bucks, drafting former SC guard Sindarius Thornwell. "Sindarius has shown the ability to play multiple positions, and if you look at what he did as leader of the SC team, take them to the Final Four, their program had never achieved success like he did".
Frank denied the Clippers had been shopping Jordan, even though several league executives who were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter said there were discussions about a deal for Jordan that went nowhere. "He's gritty, grimy, we like that". The Clippers paid about $2.5 million to buy the pick from the Bucks to take Thornwell.
The Clippers also purchased another second-round pick from Philadelphia, choosing Oklahoma State point guard Jawun Evans at 39. A streaky shooter during his sophomore season at USC, Dozier still showed an explosiveness that helped him average 13.9 points per game, and made him the Gamecocks' second-leading scorer. He was projected as a first-round pick in many mock drafts.
Bulls trade Butler to Timberwolves, go all in on rebuild
Markanen averaged 15.6 points and 7.2 rebounds in his only season at Arizona. The long-anticipated reunion between Jimmy Butler and Tom Thibodeau is on.
The draft was the first for Hall of Famer Jerry West with the Clippers. "And it's amusing. If you track every rumor, literally every single player outside maybe the players on Golden State and LeBron [James], were mentioned. Like I said, I saw a lot of faces I hadn't seen in years, you know, so this was a great opportunity and a great blessing".
"This is really what it was all about", Dozier said, "You know, all this was good, the draft, but this is what we wanted to do".
However, Shams Charania was first to report that Thornwell would be moved in a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers. "So we're going to do everything we can to compete for championships every year". If not for trades, the Clippers would have held the 23rd and 56th selections.
"DeAndre was never, ever dangled", said Frank, who added that Jordan "is a cornerstone to what we do" and is "going to be here for a long, long time".
Comments