The LA Clippers did not have an on-stage representative for the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery. Despite missing the playoffs with a 42-40 record and flaming out of the Play-In Tournament against the Golden State Warriors, the Clippers did not have their own first-round pick, part of the cost for the 2019 swap of 2018 lottery pick Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and 2019 MVP finalist Paul George.
But the Clippers did have a representative in the drawing room. Rishabh Desai has been with the Clippers since 2016 and is now the executive director of basketball operations. There was a 47.9 percent chance the Clippers would get the Pacers’ 2026 first-round pick, as a result of a blockbuster trade-deadline deal that sent center Ivica Zubac and 2023 first-round pick Kobe Brown to the Pacers in exchange for Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, a 2028 second-round pick and a 2029 first-round pick.
The only way the Clippers would get the Pacers pick is if the Pacers didn’t land in the top-four after a 19-63 season. If the 2026 first-rounder didn’t convey, then the Clippers would get Indiana’s unprotected 2031 pick, which is the same year franchise star Kawhi Leonard turns 40 years old.
Desai told The Athletic that he wore the first suit and tie that the late Jerry West ever gave him. West, a three-time inductee to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, served as a special consultant with the Clippers from 2017 until his death in June 2024. That good luck charm was validated when the fifth pick in the 2026 draft was revealed to be the Clippers’, giving them a major asset towards a re-tooling of a roster that has been competitive in the regular season but hasn’t won a playoff series since the franchise’s lone conference finals appearance in 2021.
“Amazing,” Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue told The Athletic.
Trading Zubac was not an easy decision for the Clippers. Zubac might not have even been under consideration to be traded if James Harden did not find a trade destination ahead of the deadline. Harden was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for the much younger (and much smaller) Darius Garland. The Clippers sold high on Zubac, a point that Clippers basketball president Lawrence Frank acknowledged in February.
“We told this to Zu, ‘We’re not looking to trade you,’” Frank said in February after trading Zubac. “But if someone makes us a ‘godfather-type’ offer, we have to look at it. Just because, you know, we’ve kind of — there’s not much left in the piggy bank prior to this trade in terms of premium picks. We’ve kind of gone all in. We’ve made a bunch of trades to kind of please today’s team.
“Well, we need to start only if there was ‘an offer too good to refuse,’ we need to then, ‘OK, how are we gonna bridge this era to the next era?’” Frank continued. “And with it is, guys who are part of the team now can also be part of the next era. But if everyone is part of the team, there’s a cliff, and you can, it could take years, years to get out of it. So, we never would have traded Zu unless there was a significant draft-haul opportunity that gives us the upside of those premium picks, whether it’s drafting, whether it’s using in trade, combined with cap space, to be able to get back to contender status as soon as possible.”
The Clippers have never had the fifth pick in the draft. The last time they picked in the top-five was in 2009, when LA won the lottery and selected six-time All-Star Blake Griffin, the only player in franchise history with more than 10,000 points since the team relocated to California from Buffalo in 1978. Griffin actually has lineage to this Clippers 2026 first-round pick, as he was part of a trade to the Detroit Pistons in 2018 in exchange for Tobias Harris and Boban Marjanović. A year later, Harris and Marjanović were part of a trade to the Philadelphia 76ers that allowed the Clippers to acquire Mike Muscala, who was in turn flipped to the Los Angeles Lakers for Zubac.
Frank has said that the Clippers would not be a tanking team. They were able to get a pick that is higher this year than two 60-loss teams in the Brooklyn Nets and the Sacramento Kings, not to mention Indiana falling out of the lottery entirely. After the Clippers were eliminated in the Play-In Tournament last month, Frank reiterated the organization’s stance, while looking ahead to the possibility of the lottery turning out a good fortune.
“If I’m a Clipper fan, I’m paying money. I know, wait a minute, the basement is competitive,” Frank said last month. “Whereas I could be a fan at many different organizations, some highly, highly performing organizations that have totally bottomed out. And you’ve had to deal with 19-win seasons and 22-win seasons. That’s not happening here. But what is going to happen is, OK, well, all of a sudden, now I went from the oldest team to a team that has seven players that average out at the age of 24 in the rotation. Plus, I have huge cap space coming down the road where I can get max players. Plus, I finally am getting that piggy bank that was empty with draft capital. Now, it’s getting full with, call it a coin flip chance of getting a high, high lottery pick in a loaded draft.”
Now, the Clippers’ work begins with the clarity of a valuable short-term asset rather than a long-term asset. And it comes in a draft class that had five teams losing 60-plus games for a reason. The Clippers are going to have their pick among whoever falls out of the top four between point guards Darius Acuff Jr. of Arkansas and Keaton Wagler of Illinois, shooting guards Brayden Burries of Arizona, Kingston Flemings of Houston, and Darryn Peterson of Kansas, small forward Yaxel Lendeborg of Michigan, power forwards Cameron Boozer of Duke, AJ Dybantsa of BYU, and Caleb Wilson of North Carolina, and center Aday Mara of Michigan.
The Clippers don’t have a specific position in mind to target. But they could use help at any position:
Garland is the franchise point guard and in his prime, but the Clippers have ended each of the last two seasons without a true backup, which matters with Garland’s durability concerns.
The Clippers lack shooting depth, and though Mathurin is a restricted free agent, Bradley Beal has a player option, and Bogdan Bogdanović has a team option, the Clippers could consider a big guard.
Leonard and the Clippers are still under league investigation for the Aspiration scandal, and while the Clippers have perimeter defenders such as Derrick Jones Jr. and Kris Dunn, they could use more athleticism on the wings; all of Leonard, Jones, and Dunn are extension-eligible as well.
Starting power forward John Collins is an unrestricted free agent, and the Clippers were a poor rebounding team all year; they could be very interested in the slim chance that Dybantsa, Boozer, or Wilson slip.
Trading Zubac left the team with 38-year-old Brook Lopez as the starting center, while injuries to 2025 first-round pick Yanic Konan Niederhäuser (Lisfranc) and Jackson (ankle) left the team without a true backup down the stretch last month. Lopez has a team option, while Konan Niederhäuser is not expected to be ready to start the season, though there is virtually no chance that the Clippers use a top pick on a center.
Wagler is particularly intriguing as a big guard who could potentially fit next to Garland in the short term as a backup and in the long term as a shooting guard. The last time the Clippers took a guard in the lottery was in 2018, when Gilgeous-Alexander went one-and-done at Kentucky. Wagler has concerning physical traits as far as strength and athleticism, and he doesn’t profile as an impact defender. But like Gilgeous-Alexander, Wagler gets to the free throw line at a high rate, has a stellar assist-turnover ratio, and shoots the ball well with even more 3-point volume than Gilgeous-Alexander had.
In addition to the fifth pick, the Clippers also have two second-round picks: 36th and 52nd overall. The Clippers like this draft and are eager to keep their pick instead of using it in a trade for a veteran. But there is a lot to be done with the draft six weeks away. At least the Clippers know that they are in a position of strength. And perhaps they had the blessing of Jerry West to thank for it.
Teenage sprinter Tate Taylor has completed a historic medal sweep at the World Under-20 Championships hosted at Hayward Field, Oregon.
The 18-year-old American won 100m gold in a 9.94s personal best on Thursday, victorious by a tenth of a second over Gary Card (silver, 10.05s). He’s the first U.S. man to win that title since Noah Lyles, who did so in 2016.
“Once I got out at the top end, I knew it was going to be a good race,” he told World Athletics media. “There were some tweaks I was looking to fix after the semi-finals, and I think I executed those pretty well.”
Taylor followed that up with a storming 19.83s run for the 200m crown two days later, surpassing Lyles and all American men before him in an unprecedented double youth sprint gold. In still conditions, he won by nearly half a second ahead of compatriot Blake Hamilton (silver, 20.31s), bettering the championship record that Letsile Tebogo and Blessing Afrifah had jointly held from 2022 (19.96s).
Then he closed out the championships by anchoring the U.S. men to 4x100m gold, running an 8.75s anchor split — the quickest in the field — to complete an under-20 world-record run by the quartet, who clocked 38.16s. In second were Great Britain, who set an age-group European record with 38.90s.
Taylor is the first athlete in 40 years of the Under-20 World Championships to win the sprint treble. “It means a lot winning this gold medal,” he said. “We have been talking about this relay the whole week. We knew something special was about to happen. McDonalds’s, I am coming for you.”
Team USA enjoyed a record-breaking championships on home soil, winning 24 medals in total and 12 golds — bettering the Soviet Union’s 22 medals from 1988. Texas-born Mia Maxwell also claimed two individual sprint crowns (100m and 200m).
“This double gold that Tate Taylor and Mia Maxwell just pulled off is probably one of the hardest to do,” wrote Lyles, the 100m Olympic and 200m world champion, on X. “Mostly because of how hard the schedule is. Six races in four days is so hard on the body. Then to do it as U20 athletes is even crazier.”
Last week saw the end of a 23-race season for Taylor. He heads to Texas Tech to compete in the NCAAs from this September. Taylor also won 100m and 200m national age-group titles this year, and his standout win came at the Prefontaine Classic in early July, when he took down a senior 200m field in 19.75s, beating Tebogo in the process. Big personal bests this season means he is up to joint-fifth and third on the men’s under-20 lists for 100m and 200m respectively.
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — New York Giants coach John Harbaugh emphasized the importance of the second week of training camp when the Giants returned to action last Monday after their lone day off during a nearly two-week stay in West Virginia.
“The second week is the big week of camp. This is your opportunity to really grow as a football team,” Harbaugh said. “You build your foundation in training camp for your team. The second week should be where you cover the most miles, gain the most ground. We want to put the most miles behind us as far as developing the foundation of our team this week.”
So, after the Giants wrapped up their sixth straight day of practice on Saturday before heading home to New Jersey, how did Harbaugh think the important second week went?
“I think we got a lot better,” Harbaugh said. “We improved tremendously. … I think we can look back and say that we’ve come a long way.”
Giants conclude training camp in West Virginia
Dan Duggan
The Giants certainly didn’t take any shortcuts on the path to improvement. They practiced on 10 of the 11 days in West Virginia and wore full pads five times, which was the maximum allowable by the current collective bargaining agreement. The Giants finished with four straight practices that ran longer than two hours, including a marathon two-hour, 25-minute session on Friday. Before getting on a plane to return to New Jersey, Saturday’s practice featured young backups competing in a live-tackling, goal-line period. The offense scored three touchdowns on the five plays from the 2-yard line, setting off a celebration from the entire offense.
There hadn’t been a lot for the offense to celebrate early in camp, as quarterback Jaxson Dart often looked uncomfortable while running a system that is drastically different from his rookie year. Dart left West Virginia on a high note, however, with his best performance of camp coming in Friday’s grueling practice. Dart completed 16-of-19 passes during 11-on-11 periods, capping a 14-play drive with a 3-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Darius Slayton to finish the day.
Dart continues to make the transition from the RPO-heavy offense he ran at Ole Miss and last season to the under-center scheme of new offensive coordinator Matt Nagy. The growing pains are evident, but the hope is that Dart gets comfortable in an offense that will be centered on a power rushing attack from heavy personnel with a play-action passing game.
“I’m happy with where we’re at,” Harbaugh said. “It’s just a matter of keeping your head down and staying after it every day. Never taking a breath in terms of your mindset and determination to get better.”
The next step will be leaving the distraction-free surroundings of the Allegheny Mountains to return home to team headquarters, which remain under construction as part of a major renovation. Harbaugh gave the experience at the luxurious Greenbrier resort an “A-plus.” The resort was appealing because it had a turnkey NFL-caliber practice facility the team could inhabit. There was a strong showing of roughly 2,000 fans at most of the six practices open to the public.
With the Giants’ facility upgrades not expected to be completed until the start of the 2028 season, all options — including a return to West Virginia — are on the table for training camp next year.
The depth chart is coming into focus after 10 practices, although there are sure to be more changes after Saturday’s preseason opener against the Vikings. Here are the most notable depth chart developments from the first two weeks of camp:
• Cam Skattebo has been the first running back up in team periods on most days, with Tyrone Tracy Jr. taking the majority of snaps in two-minute drives. That figures to be a time share, with Skattebo the 1-A and Tracy the 1-B. Devin Singletary has been the only other back to get significant reps with the first-team offense. Running back remains a position where the Giants figure to seek a reinforcement before the season, particularly if they can find a dynamic runner.
• The top wide receivers on the depth chart are Slayton, Malik Nabers, Malachi Fields, Darnell Mooney, Calvin Austin, Odell Beckham Jr., Braxton Berrios and JuJu Smith-Schuster. Nabers is obviously the No. 1 receiver, and Fields has started to make strides toward claiming the No. 2 role. Beyond that, it’s wide open. None of the other receivers have stood out. The preseason games should go a long way in settling the battle for the final receiver spots, with Dalen Cambre looming as a dark horse based on his special teams acumen.
• Isaiah Likely and Theo Johnson are the top two tight ends, with Chris Manhertz re-signed because the Giants value his blocking ability. Pat Ricard will factor in at tight end because he lines up in-line and in the backfield at fullback. That likely doesn’t leave room for another tight end. However, 2025 seventh-round pick Thomas Fidone II has flashed impressive hands since getting involved in team periods after being limited early in camp as he recovered from the foot injury that prematurely ended his rookie season.
It will be interesting to see how much Johnson’s playing time gets squeezed since Likely is the top receiving tight end, and Ricard and Manhertz have defined roles as blockers. Johnson is the most well-rounded tight end on the roster, but his maddening drops have continued in camp. Johnson should see plenty of snaps alongside Likely in two-tight end sets, but he needs to become more consistent.
• There has been no competition for any starting jobs on the offensive line. Left guard Jon Runyan, right guard Francis Mauigoa and right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor have taken every first-team rep. The same applied to center John Michael Schmitz before he left Friday’s practice to get evaluated for a concussion. Left tackle Andrew Thomas may have more job security than any player on the roster, so when he has rotated with Marcus Mbow that has only been part of a maintenance plan for the veteran.
The second-team offensive line has been similarly consistent with Mbow at left tackle, Josh Ezeudu at right tackle, Daniel Faalele and Aaron Stinnie at the guard spots, and Lucas Patrick at center. Patrick has been battling through a knee injury that has limited his participation. Bryan Hudson has a prime opportunity to make a push, as he took first-team center reps on Saturday with Schmitz and Patrick not participating in team periods. The 31-year-old Patrick’s experience is appealing as a backup, but he has a lengthy injury history that could work against him in a competition with the 25-year-old Hudson.
Rookie sixth-round pick JC Davis has been the third-team left tackle, but his draft status could enable him to leapfrog Ezeudu for a roster spot. Evan Neal has been the third-team right guard throughout camp with no indications that he’s in the mix for a roster spot.
• Second-year pro Darius Alexander has had a strong start to camp to solidify his spot alongside veteran defensive linemen DJ Reader and Shelby Harris. Leki Fotu and Josh Tupou have gotten the most first-team reps among the crowd of defensive tackles competing for backup jobs. Rookie sixth-round pick Bobby Jamison-Travis has mostly played with the third-team. He’s a player the Giants likely could slide to the practice squad if necessary. Defensive tackle stands out as a position that the Giants, who are fifth in the waiver order, will look to upgrade before the season.
• There isn’t much intrigue at either linebacker position. Brian Burns, Abdul Carter, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Chauncey Golston are locked in as the four outside linebackers. Thibodeaux has been working inside much more this summer, as he’ll likely be an interior rusher on passing downs.
Tremaine Edmunds and rookie Arvell Reese, who looks ready to make an immediate impact, never come off the field at inside linebacker, while Micah McFadden has had a strong camp as the top backup. Rookie sixth-round pick Jack Kelly has solidified his spot as McFadden’s running mate on the second-team. The fate of Zaire Barnes and Darius Muasau will be determined by special teams (more on that below).
• Cornerback continues to be unsettled, with four players getting first-team reps. This is my unofficial tally on who has taken the most first-team reps, in order: Greg Newsome II, Deonte Banks, Paulson Adebo and Colton Hood. Newsome has been steady on the outside and has gotten some work in the slot with Dru Phillips sidelined by a sprained knee. Newsome had a scare during the final practice in West Virginia on Saturday when he went down with an apparent non-contact knee injury. He checked out OK, although he understandably didn’t finish practice.
Banks continues to play better than he has in his first three seasons, although there have been more completions in his direction as camp has progressed. Even though it’s a new coaching staff, there has to be some internal trepidation about relying on Banks after his past performance. That he has moved ahead of Adebo is telling about how disappointing the big-money corner has been. Adebo has given up far too many completions in camp for supposed No. 1 corner, and his standing on the depth chart reflects the coaching staff’s dissatisfaction with his play.
Hood doesn’t look ready to be a Day 1 starter, which is fine with the Giants facing the Cowboys and Rams’ high-octane passing attacks to start the season. Phillips has remained the starting slot corner, but he has split reps with Ar’Darius Washington depending on the situation.
• Jevon Holland Tyler Nubin appeared to be locked in as the starting safeties, but Jason Pinnock suddenly has been rotating with Nubin on the first team. Pinnock has made 46 career starts, including 37 for the Giants from 2022 to 2024, so it’s conceivable that he could push Nubin for the starting job. Washington will have a role as a Swiss Army knife in the secondary, while Elijah Campbell will need to excel on special teams to force the Giants to carry a fifth safety.
• The special teams depth charts always give a clue on which bubble players are best positioned to make the roster. McFadden, Kelly, Barnes and cornerback Art Green are starters on all of the core for special teams units (kickoff, kickoff return, punt, punt return). Banks and Muasau are starters on three units, while Campbell and cornerback Nic Jones are starters on two units.
The special teams depth chart is fluid, and coordinators know they’ll have to adjust based on offensive and defensive needs. But it’s noteworthy that players like Barnes and Green have such prominent roles in the kicking game, which is deeply valued by Harbaugh.
• The biggest head-to-head position battle of camp is between kickers Dominic Zvada and Ben Sauls. Sauls has bounced back after a dreadful spring, but he is still lagging in the competition. Sauls is 35-for-44 (79.5 percent) on field goals in camp. Meanwhile, Zvada has made 41-of-45 (91.1 percent) of his field goal attempts. Zvada’s leg strength is obvious, and he’s the heavy favorite in the competition as the focus shifts to preseason games.
Undrafted rookie long snapper Ben Mann has been consistently accurate with his snaps. Mann can secure the job if he covers punts well in preseason games.
Injury tracker
The Giants left West Virginia encouragingly healthy. Schmitz and Phillips were the only starters to get injured during the first 10 practices of camp. Harbaugh didn’t confirm if Schmitz, who missed a game last season with a concussion, is in the concussion protocol but said, “It wasn’t anything terrible.” So it sounds like Schmitz won’t be sidelined for long.
Phillips went down with what Harbaugh called a “mild knee sprain” in last Wednesday’s practice. Phillips was moving well while working with a trainer during Saturday’s practice, so it doesn’t seem like he’s due for an extended absence.
The most important — and encouraging — development on the injury front has been Nabers’ comeback from a torn ACL and meniscus. Nabers participated in individual drills and install periods in nine of the 10 practices in West Virginia. He ramped up his workload by the end of the trip, showing an explosiveness that suggests he is ready for the next step in his return.
Harbaugh said late last week that Nabers will be “working his way back into practice more and more.” That could mean participation in team periods this week as the team continues to target having Nabers in the lineup for the Sept. 13 opener against the Cowboys.
Sources said Gozo would join Palace for around $15 million (£11 million). Rob Gray / Getty Images
Crystal Palace are finalizing the signing of American winger Zavier Gozo from Real Salt Lake.
Sources briefed on the situation, granted anonymity to protect relationships, said Gozo was in London on Monday to undergo a medical with Palace and complete the paperwork for his move.
Palace and Real Salt Lake have reached an agreement worth around $15 million (£11 million) for Gozo, allowing the 19-year-old to travel to the UK. It’s a new club-record for RSL, sources say.
Gozo will join up with his new teammates for preseason this week.
Gozo scored six goals and made five assists for RSL in 16 games this season playing as a wing-back, after initially breaking through as a winger. He has added quality in the final third to his game that already featured elite athleticism and dribbling ability. He made 50 first team appearances for RSL in total.
RSL has developed a number of first team regulars and is no stranger to big outbound deals to Europe, with Andres Gomez joining French side Rennes for $11 million in 2024. But Gozo becomes the club’s new gold standard for academy to first team pathway, complete with a marquee transfer to Europe.
Gozo is a strong candidate to make his senior U.S. national team debut this fall, as he narrowly missed out on a late push to make the 2026 World Cup squad. He has been a regular in youth national teams.
Real Salt Lake hoped to keep the player for the season but, as Gozo made it clear he wanted to take the next step this summer and bids intensified, the club agreed to a deal with Palace.
Crystal Palace named Pierre Sage as their new head coach this summer after Oliver Glasner’s successful stint with the club came to an end, following a UEFA Conference League final triumph over Rayo Vallecano that qualified the club for a place in this season’s Europa League. Glasner has since moved to Nottingham Forest. Palace previously ended their 70-year trophy drought with an FA Cup win in 2025.
Fellow American Chris Richards remains a key player for Palace, who begins the Premier League season on August 22 against Everton.
