2018 NBA Mock Draft: If need were all that mattered

After trading for one of the players whom Bridges most closely resembles in the NBA, the Clippers’ primary need is to double down on the flexibility Tobias Harris afforded them after he came over in the Blake Griffin deal. Bridges and Harris together would bring some incredible mixing and matching opportunities few teams in the league could match.

Bridges is bigger than any of the players he stylistically or statistically projects to be like at the next level, but Harris is certainly on that list. With the size to credibly play against bigger players in small ball lineups and space the floor well enough to make those lineups work, Bridges is his own kind of unicorn.

Writing about Bridges at The Ringer this week, Jonathan Tjarks brought up the idea that we may have forgotten about Bridges a little, saying, “His team changed around him, allowing him to showcase subtle improvements to his game that will make him a better NBA player. He went from a guy who would have been a reach to one who could be a steal.”

That’s certainly true. Especially compared with an unknown player like Luka Doncic or Michael Porter Jr., Bridges’ ability to stay effective as a leader at Michigan State could be valuable. It certainly helps for a team like the Clippers which is trying to toe the line between competitiveness and rebuilding.