The Clippers came out of the 2026 draft with the highest pick in Los Angeles and one of the more interesting rebuilds in the Western Conference. The Lakers made a smaller move. Both are worth tracking.

Keaton Wagler, G — Clippers, No. 5 overall, Illinois

The player. Wagler went fifth in a class league executives described as having historic star power at the top, which means the Clippers landed on the right side of the tier break — after the consensus top four of AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer and Caleb Wilson, but ahead of the drop-off.

He emerged as one of the top players in college basketball during a historic freshman class and, notably, stayed consistent across the full season — the trait that separates one-month risers from actual prospects.

The situation. The Clippers acquired this pick from Indiana in the February trade that sent Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson and multiple firsts to Los Angeles for Ivica Zubac and Kobe Brown. That’s a franchise reshaping itself in real time, which usually translates into minutes for a lottery pick.

Playing time projection. Rotation from opening night, with a path to starting depending on how the roster settles.

The Clippers’ second round

Los Angeles was one of the busiest teams on night two, though most of the picks came and went.

Baba Miller, F — No. 36, Cincinnati is the one they kept from their own board. Nick Martinelli, F — No. 55, Northwestern arrived via New York and Houston, and Narcisse Ngoy, F — No. 57, France came from Atlanta. Henri Veesaar (No. 52, North Carolina) went the other direction, reportedly to the Hawks.

Playing time projection for all three: camp battles and two-way considerations. Martinelli is the local-interest name for anyone who followed Big Ten basketball.

Cameron Carr, G — Lakers, No. 24, Baylor

The Lakers acquired the 24th pick from New York on draft night and took Carr, then moved on from No. 25 — Sergio de Larrea, reportedly routed to Dallas via the Knicks — and from No. 56, Vsevolod Ishchenko, also reportedly headed to Dallas.

The read. A late-first-round guard on a Lakers roster is a development project rather than a rotation solution. Carr’s rookie year will be about earning specific-situation minutes.

Playing time projection. Limited, with G League time likely.

Beyond Los Angeles

AJ Dybantsa, F — Washington Wizards (No. 1). The face of the class. He dropped 27 points in his Summer League debut, tying the record for a No. 1 pick, and projects as a 20-point-per-game scorer immediately. Trae Young and Anthony Davis give him support most top picks don’t get.

Darryn Peterson, G — Utah Jazz (No. 2). A Pacific-adjacent rival and a genuine Rookie of the Year threat: 20.7 points and four assists across five Summer League games, with an ESPN panel picking him over Dybantsa as the rookie most likely to become a superstar fastest. The Clippers and Lakers will both see plenty of him.

Caleb Wilson, F — Chicago Bulls (No. 4). The loudest Summer League of anyone. Wilson opened with 35 points and hit seven three-pointers in that single game — matching his entire three-point total across his college career at North Carolina. Whether that’s a real shooting leap or a Vegas mirage is one of the season’s better subplots.

The short version

The Clippers are the team with something to find out. A No. 5 pick, a reshaped roster and a Western Conference that offers no soft landings means Wagler will be evaluated in real games against real defenses starting in October.

The Lakers’ draft was a transaction, not a plan. Carr is a lottery ticket at the back of the first round, and the more meaningful moves for that roster happened elsewhere.

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