newsgazette
CHAMPAIGN Trent Redden spent a mid-October afternoon at Ubben Basketball Complex last fall.
This was before word of Keaton Wagler had really spread about the Illinois freshman guard.
Kylan Boswell had given his hes cold stamp of approval.
Brad Underwood had publicly compared Wagler as a prospect to both Kasparas Jakucionis and Will Riley only a couple weeks prior.
A bold statement from the Illini coach given those two, just four months earlier, were selected with consecutive picks in the first round of the 2025 NBA draft.
But Wagler was still an unknown outside of Illinois basketball circles.
What Redden saw that day in Champaign, scouting in his role as Los Angeles Clippers general manager, was the beginning of that narrative starting to change.
Trents there at practice and hes watching and he writes his report: Everyone has to know this guy, Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said late Tuesday night.
The path from Reddens report out of Ubben to Los Angeles making Wagler the No.
5 overall pick in the 2026 NBA draft is lengthy.
The Illinois freshman turned that growing preseason hype into one of the best single seasons in program history.
Numerous individual accolades, including Big Ten Freshman of the Year and consensus Second Team All-American.
Not to mention team success with 28 wins and a run to the Final Four.
Then the real work began.
Evaluators across the NBA truly dug into Wagler.
The Clippers, who secured the No.
5 pick when it landed outside the top four in the lottery process, were one of two teams to host Wagler for a workout.
Chicago, with the fourth and 15th picks, got the other.
Those three days in Los Angeles werent the only reason the Clippers selected Wagler after months of due diligence, but they put a spotlight on why the 19-year-old guard was the right pick.
Frank said there was never a single watershed moment where it became clear Wagler was the choice, but the collective results from the battery of tests Los Angeles put the Illinois freshman through provided that answer.
Even if it got off to a seemingly rocky start.
When he started his workout he actually missed a bunch of shots, Frank said.
These are nerve-wracking kind of interviews for these young guys.
You have everyone watching you.
..
How do you deal with struggling for the biggest job interview of your life? Then he comes out and plays great in the competition.
Wagler worked out against Kingston Flemings in Los Angeles.
A choice Frank said both made as opposed to a solo session.
The Houston freshman guard went on to be the No.
8 pick of the Atlanta Hawks, and it was when the workouts got competitive that Wagler shined.
We played, and all of a sudden, Frank said, he made every shot.
The on-court workout was only part of the Clippers in-person vetting process.
Los Angeles also put Wagler through biomechanical testing, psychological testing and processing testing.
They also had him watch his game film with head coach Tyronn Lue and lead assistant Jeff Van Gundy.
Waglers ability to decelerate was a type of functional athleticism that intrigued the Clippers.
The way he processed the game was equally impressive.
So was how he took ownership of any struggles Lue and Van Gundy pointed out during the film review.
You put it all together, and those 48 hours are a part of it, Frank said about the evaluation process.
Then you watch all his games.
Then were fortunate to see a bunch of his practices.
Then you talk to everyone that has basically been part of his journey from the AAU coach to high school coach to college assistants to the people that missed on him to all the people in the conference.
The end result? Wagler was the choice.
The best player available for the way the Clippers see that construct.
Frank sees best available as a broad term that can be defined in several players.
Like best chance to be an All-Star the quickest.
Or best chance to be Rookie of the Year.
For us, the way we define how were going to select a player at five was, who has the best chance to be the best player we can get on the next Clipper contending team? Frank said.
Los Angeles is at a nexus.
Competitive, sure, but not a contender in Franks estimation even with seven-time All-Star and two-time champion Kawhi Leonard as the franchises centerpiece player.
The Clippers got the fifth pick because they dealt Ivica Zubac to the Indiana Pacers.
Their own pick was also in the lottery after a 42-40 season, ninth-place finish in the Western Conference and play-in game loss to the Golden State Warriors.
The 12th pick, of course, went to the Oklahoma City Thunder as the final asset from the 2019 trade that sent Paul George to Los Angeles.
Frank said the Clippers still intend to contend with a team built around Leonard, and selecting Wagler at No.
5 doesnt change that plan that could still be altered by targeting another All-Star via trade.
But selecting Wagler was also a pick for the future.
The way you look at things is you dont look at whos on the roster today especially when youre drafting a 19- or 20-year-old, Frank said.
You look big picture.
Who is the best player for the Clippers next contending roster? We landed on Keaton.
It takes time.
Sometimes an organization loses patience.
Were very, very excited, but also wide-eyed with Keaton.
Hes 19.
Theres going to be an investment in knowing this is going to be a process.
Theres going to be highs, theres going to be lows.
The reason we picked Keaton over any of the other guys it wasnt about a today thing, so to speak.
Its about when we get back to being a contender we really feel like hes going to be the best player with the most impact of the group.