VIA AP:
The last player the Los Angeles Clippers took with the No. 1 pick turned out to be a bust.
That’s not expected from who they can select this time.
The Clippers won the NBA draft lottery Tuesday night, moving up from the third-best chance to earn the top pick and the right to draft forward Blake Griffin, the national college player of the year from Oklahoma.
“He’s just as athletic as can be,” Clippers president Andy Roeser said. “Our scouts have seen him a ton this year and they just rave about him. He’s quick, he jumps and leaps. He can help to change the game for you and he’s going to be an impact player.”
Roeser wouldn’t confirm that the Clippers will choose Griffin, though they could certainly use a power forward since Elton Brand (notes) left before last season as a free agent.
“I think five years from now Blake Griffin will be hitting his stride in the NBA and he will be an impact player wherever he is,” said Roeser, whose sports jacket was lined with a Clippers uniform with a No. 1 on the left side and a 23, Griffin’s number, on the other. “He is an athletic player. He can do all sorts of things and has a ton of talent, and I think any team will be happy to have him.”
The Clippers, almost predictably, blew it last time they had a chance to get that type of player, using the No. 1 pick in 1998 on center Michael Olowokandi(notes), who averaged 8.3 points in his career and is out of the NBA.
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