Why are people overlooking Kingston Flemings as the clear fit for the Clippers?
I’m honestly confused why so many people are overlooking Kingston Flemings as the Clippers’ pick. To me, his fit makes a ton of sense, especially as our backup point guard.
Adding Flemings allows us to keep Kobe Saunders in the starting lineup, where he was efficient last year and valuable because of his ability to defend alongside Darius Garland. Then our second unit gets a real boost with Kingston and Ben coming off the bench, giving us a strong punch and better balance.
I also think Flemings gives us some much-needed flexibility when Garland’s next deal comes up. Realistically, the only way we continue building a good team around this core is if Garland takes a massive pay cut from the $40+ million range down to somewhere closer to the $20+ million range. If he wants a bigger deal, having Flemings gives us a young guard already in place, which would make it easier to trade Garland for assets that can help us moving forward instead of being forced into overpaying him.
I feel like people are overthinking this. Someone like Wagler would only make sense if he were more of an off-ball, knockdown shooter. But from what I’ve seen, he seems more like an offensive, ball-dominant guard who plays average to below-average defense. That fit doesn’t make much sense next to Garland, and especially not with Kawhi Leonard still on the roster for now, even if he could be traded this offseason.
Unless we’re trading into the top four for a big like Boozer or Wilson because of their fit and our need for a true 4, I think Kingston is the obvious option. Getting a cost-controlled guard who fits the rotation cleanly also helps us financially, especially with the Collins deal in mind.
Am I missing something here, or are we making this way more complicated than it needs to be?