The Clippers picked 21-year old, 6’4″, 205 pound shooting guard Travis Leslie out of Georgia with the 47th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.  Leslie played in 33 games for Georgia last year and he averaged 32.2 minutes, 14.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  Leslie played in 90 games in his three years in college and he averaged 26.5 minutes, 12.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  This was another solid pick for the Clippers as Leslie was good value where they got him.

The Clippers picked 21-year old, 6’10″, 245 pound power forward Trey Tompkins with the 37th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.  Tompkins played in 30 games for Georgia last year and he averaged 31.2 minutes, 16.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.7 blocked shots per game.  In his three years in college, Tompkins played in 89 games in which he averaged 29.5 minutes, 15.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.3 blocked shots per game.  Tompkins was the best player on the board when the Clippers picked and he will back up Blake Griffin.

The Los Angeles Clippers’ 2011-12 draft is already a disaster.  It all started at the trade deadline when the Clippers sent veteran point guard Baron Davis and an unprotected first round pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers for point guard Mo Williams and small forward Jamario Moon.  Williams played pretty well for the Clippers and he will be a big part of the team’s future.  But, the first round pick that the Clippers sent the Cavaliers turned out to be the lottery winner.  The Cavs got the #1 overall pick in the NBA Draft in the Mo Williams deal.  Now the Clippers only have the #37 and #47 picks in the NBA Draft.  The Clippers will likely target a small forward with Davis Bertans out of Latvia being a distinct possibility at #37.  The Clippers will likely go with the best player available at #47.

The Clippers have picked 21-year old shooting guard Willie Warren with the 54th overall pick of the NBA Draft. Warren played in 21 games (19 starts) at Oklahoma and he averaged 16.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.0 steal per game. He played in 57 games (53 starts) in college and he averaged 15.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Warren is a combo guard who can provide offense off the bench for the Clippers so I like this pick for them.

The Clippers have acquired 21-year old point guard Eric Bledsoe from the Thunder for a future first round pick. Bledsoe was the 18th overall pick in the first round out of Kentucky. Bledsoe played in 37 games (35 starts) last season for Kentucky and he averaged 11.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Bledsoe will likely do a lot of learning behind Baron Davis who he probably will replace down the road.

The Clippers have picked 19-year old power forward Al Farouq Aminu with the 8th overall pick of the NBA Draft. Aminu played in 31 games (30 starts) at Wake Forest last season and he averaged 15.8 points, 10.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocked shots per game. He played in two years in college playing in 62 games (60 starts) in which he averaged 14.4 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.3 blocked shots per game. Aminu can really stuff a stat sheet but he will likely be behind Blake Griffin unless he proves capable of handling the small forward spot.

The Clippers own the #8 and #54 picks in tomorrow night’s NBA Draft. The Clippers really should target a small forward or a power forward in the first round of the draft. They will likely still go hard after LeBron James even if they take a small forward. But if the Clippers don’t draft a small forward with the #8 pick look for them to offer the Sun and the Moon to LeBron James starting July 1st. Regardless of who the Clippers get in the first round it will likely be a quality player who will get his fair share of minutes in 2010-11.

The Los Angeles Clippers have selected 20-year old power forward Blake Griffin with the first pick in the NBA Draft. He’s a big guy at 6’10″, 251 pounds and he reminds a lot of scouts and experts of a young Karl Malone. Griffin only played 2 seasons at Oklahoma covering 68 games (63 starts) in which he averaged 18.8 points, 11.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.0 blocked shot per game. Griffin made 61.8% of his shots from the floor at Oklahoma but only 58.9% from the free throw line. Look for Griffin to be the favorite to win the Rookie of the Year Award for the Clippers in 2009-2010.

The Clippers acquired point guard Mike Taylor from the Trailblazers during the draft for a 2nd round pick in the 2009 Draft. Taylor is a skinny guy at 6’2″, 165 pounds but he’s a mature player as he’s 22 years old. Taylor played in 39 games (6 starts) for the Idaho Stampede last season and he averaged 14.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists. Taylor is the first player ever drafted from the D-League in NBA history. It will be interesting to see if Taylor will pan out down the road for the Clippers but he might get a chance to earn backup minutes at point guard behind fellow rookie Eric Gordon this season.

The Clippers selected center DeAndre Jordan in the 2nd round and he will likely back up Chris Kaman as a rookie. Jordan is a little raw as he’s only 19 years old but you can’t teach size as he is 7’0″, 260 pounds. Jordan played in 35 games (21 starts) at Texas A&M and he averaged 7.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 1.3 blocked shots per game. Jordan also shot 61.7% from the floor last season for Texas A&M but most of his shots were coming from close range. This will likely turn out to be a decent pick for the Clippers down the road.