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The Los Angeles Clippers came into the 2023 NBA Draft with the last pick of the first round at No. 30. They also had a second round pick at No. 48. The draft hasn't exactly been kind to the Clippers in recent seasons. Going back to the last ten years to 2013, there's only two NBA Draft picks they've kept on their roster that you can say were hits; Reggie Bullock in 2013 and Terance Mann in 2019. They had Miles Bridges and Quentin Grimes but ended up trading away their draft rights. The jury is still out on Brandon Boston Jr., Jason Preston and Moussa Diabate. This is a team that needs a little bit of youth though and out of the Clippers 2023 draft picks, Kobe Brown was a pretty decent NBA Draft pick.
The Clippers are a team on the hunt for their first championship in franchise history. They were thought to be closer to that goal when they acquired Kawhi Leonard and Paul George but coming into the 2023-24 season they seem to be father away from that goal than when they started. Injuries have derailed the last three seasons following the bubble debacle in 2020.
As it stands, the Clippers are a team full of veterans and old legs. This team struggled to defend in transition and wasn't particularly strong when it came to points in transition either. They have a few young players on the team in Boston, Preston and Diabate whom they need to figure out what their long-term potential is.
While this team needs an infusion on youth, they managed to select two of the oldest players in the draft in Kobe Brown and Jordan Miller. Nevertheless, Brown is not a bad pick and he could end up being a serviceable rotation player for the Clippers. One of the Clippers positions of need is at power forward. They've been getting away with Marcus Morris as the starter with Nicolas Batum as the reserve. But if this season showed anything, it's that the Clippers need an overhaul at the four. Batum is a good player to have coming off the bench, but they need a real starting four.
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That's not to say that Brown is capable of being a starter at power forward because he probably won't even get much playing time this season. His rookie season path lies with Ontario Clippers of the G League. He can eventually be part of the answer though in the frontcourt. He's big and physical and mobile as well. Brown is efficient around the basket and can muscle his way to the rim for easy scoring opportunities. For a team that often relied on jumpers, that's a welcome skill-set for the Clippers.
He's a rebounder and defender as well. The Clippers often struggled with hitting the glass and Brown brings a knack for grabbing boards especially on the offensive end. He has a little playmaking to his game and he's improved his shot to the point where he can be a consistent stretch-four spacing the floor with his three-point shooting.
During his final season at Missouri, Kobe Brown had a breakout year averaging 15.8 points per game, 6.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals with splits of 55.3 percent shooting from the field, 45.5 percent shooting from the three-point line and 79.2 percent shooting from the free-throw line. Brown was a college senior and sometimes those are the players that are ready to contribute in the NBA immediately.
