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The draft starts at No. 5.
That’s maybe the most heard piece of analysis around the 2026 NBA Draft. The top four teams (Washington, Utah, Memphis, Chicago) are not trading down or out of those spots, and they are going to select the top four players (AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cam Boozer, Caleb Wilson) in whatever order.
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From there, anything could happen — and that includes trades, too. There will be plenty on draft night. Let’s break down some of the trade rumors already and ones we might see during the first round of the NBA Draft.
Will Clippers trade No. 5 pick?
While there was a lot of talk about this early, it likely isn’t happening, according to the latest reports. The Clippers did explore the market for trading their pick, league sources told NBC Sports, and they should as a team at a crossroads — retool and continue to try to win now around Kawhi Leonard and Darius Garland, or start to rebuild to whatever is next. That uncertainty fueled speculation that Lawrence Frank and the front office might trade the No. 5 pick in favor of a win-now player.
Instead, the Clippers are now operating like a team that is going to keep the pick, reports Jake Fischer of The Stein Line. What would it take to get the Clippers to change their mind about that? Multiple first-round picks — especially in outlying years, picks the league can’t take away in any punishment tied to the Aspiration scandal (we’re all still waiting to see how that plays out) — and young players. Oklahoma City has the assets, but isn’t likely to send them to Los Angeles.
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The strongest buzz in league circles is that the Clippers will use that pick on Keaton Wagler out of Illinois, or maybe Mikel Brown Jr. out of Louisville. However, when the Clippers have made big moves in recent years — including trading away Ivica Zubac this season — they have come out of the blue. This is not a leaky organization, and with that anything could happen.
Oklahoma City wants to trade up
Just what the rest of the league wants to see, the Thunder with another elite young player.
That’s likely going to happen one way or another. Oklahoma…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/2026-nba-draft-trade-proposals-130000086.html
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Publish date : 2026-06-21 13:00:00
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