2018 NBA Mock Draft: Time for the Final Four

Not only was Blake Griffin too expensive to support an on-the-fly rebuild like the one owner Steve Ballmer supposedly wants to undergo in Los Angeles, but his high-usage, ball dominant style would make it nearly impossible for a youngster like Sexton rack up the volume of trials and errors needed to improve. In this way, clearing Griffin out makes it even easier to use the pick they acquired by trading him.

The Clippers can probably thank pure luck for their opportunity to draft Sexton in the first place. According to ESPN.com, the Georgia native reportedly had offers in place from Arizona, Florida, Georgia Tech, Iowa State, Kansas, NC State, North Carolina, Oklahoma State and Villanova as well as Alabama, where he of course eventually signed. Imagine Sexton next to Deandre Ayton in Arizona or even Omer Yurtseven at NC State, and tell me he wouldn’t be in strong consideration for a top-5 pick.

More than any lottery prospect outside of Trae Young at Oklahoma, Sexton was a victim of his teammates’ poor performance. You could make the case that six of these nine options would have been better than Alabama and earned him more looks at the top of the draft.

The pairing of team and player at this spot is sort of serendipitous.