2019 NBA Draft grades for every team: Pelicans get an A+, Rockets an F

2019 NBA Draft grades for every team: Pelicans get an A+, Rockets get an F

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 20: Zion Williamson poses with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver after being drafted with the first overall pick by the New Orleans Pelicans during the 2019 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 20, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

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ANAHEIM, CA – MARCH 28: Florida State forward Mfiondu Kabengele (25) reacts to a call during the NCAA Division I Men’s Championship Sweet Sixteen round basketball game between the Florida State Seminoles and the Gonzaga Bulldogs on March 28, 2019 at Honda Center in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Los Angeles Clippers – C

27th Overall – Mfiondu Kabengele, Center (Florida State)

48th Overall – Terance Mann, Forward (Florida State)

The Los Angeles Clippers spent the bulk of the 2018-19 season attempting to build their roster into one that star players would find attractive. By the time the team was eliminated from the playoffs by the Golden State Warriors, it seemed like they had accomplished their goal. Without a true star on the team, the Clippers hasn’t gathered pieces to make them not only a deep team but also a young team. Surveying the landscape for potential free agent suitors there aren’t many teams that positioned themselves better than the Clippers.

In the 2019 NBA Draft, they looked to continue the good they had done and with their two picks, they chose a pair of teammates from Florida State, Mfiondu Kabengele and Terance Mann. Los Angeles traded up with the Brooklyn Nets—giving up the 56th overall pick and a 2020 first-round pick—in order to take Kabengele who had been thought to have performed well enough in pre-draft workouts to rise up several teams’ draft boards.

Kabengele, the nephew of Dikembe Mutombo, has the makings of a rare 3-and -D center. He is still rough around the edges as he hasn’t been playing basketball all of his life but the talent is there. Mann wasn’t as praised as Kabengele but he was part of the class that became the winningest in Florida State men’s basketball history. He was the leader and the glue guy for Leonard Hamilton’s team. Anything that they needed to be done on the court, Mann did.

It is rare that teammates get drafted together in the same year but with the Clippers currently having a similar modus operandi to how the Seminoles ran things it could be an attempt by Los Angeles to make sure that they are bringing in players who both understand the culture that they operate within and are fine with playing specific roles for the betterment of the team. If that turns out to be the case with Kabengele and Mann than the heaps of adulation that has been poured on the Clippers front office should grow two-fold.

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