{"id":124583,"date":"2025-02-19T09:36:35","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T14:36:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=124583"},"modified":"2025-02-19T09:36:35","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T14:36:35","slug":"clippers-must-not-repeat-diabate-mistake-with-21-ppg-trentyn-flowers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/02\/19\/clippers-must-not-repeat-diabate-mistake-with-21-ppg-trentyn-flowers\/","title":{"rendered":"Clippers Must Not Repeat Diabate Mistake With 21 PPG Flowers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Building a championship roster often requires painful sacrifices. The LA Clippers<\/a> know this all too well. To stay competitive in an elite Western Conference, they\u2019ve traded away draft picks and promising young players. But sometimes, winning now comes at the cost of losing future stars. The Clippers already made this mistake with Brandon Boston Jr.<\/a> and Moussa Diabate<\/a>. Both players struggled to find minutes under Tyronn Lue before thriving elsewhere. Now, the Clippers face the same situation with Trentyn Flowers,<\/a> a G-League standout who could shape their future. If LA wants to avoid repeating past mistakes, they must prioritize Flowers’ development.<\/p>\n

Clippers Must Not Repeat Boston\/Diabate Mistake with 21 PPG Wing, Trentyn Flowers<\/h2>\n

Trentyn Flowers Is the Clippers’ Hidden Gem<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Flowers is a 19-year-old athletic phenom. He went undrafted after playing for the Adelaide 36ers, but he\u2019s made a name for himself in the G-League. Flowers averages 21.2 points and 5.1 rebounds on 44.7% shooting \u2014 star numbers for a rookie.<\/p>\n

He can jump out of the gym, finish in traffic, and create his shot. These skills scream star potential, especially for a wing in today\u2019s NBA. Yet, Flowers remains buried behind the Clippers’ stacked roster. He\u2019s played just two NBA games, averaging 4.5 points and 2 rebounds in 8 minutes.<\/p>\n

The lack of playing time makes sense in the short term. The Clippers loaded up on depth with Ben Simmons<\/a> and Bogdan Bogdanovi\u0107<\/a>. But long term, Flowers could be a franchise cornerstone \u2014 if Lue gives him the chance.<\/p>\n

Tyronn Lue Must Carve Out a Role for Flowers<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Lue struggles to balance veteran stars with young prospects. His rotations prioritize experience, often at the expense of player development. This approach cost the Clippers Boston Jr.<\/a> and Diabate<\/a>, who blossomed after leaving LA.<\/p>\n

Flowers can\u2019t be the next casualty of Lue\u2019s tight rotations. The Clippers should give him consistent bench minutes next season, allowing him to grow against NBA competition. Even if it\u2019s just 10\u201312 minutes a night, those reps are invaluable.<\/p>\n

If Flowers shows steady improvement, Lue can gradually expand his role. And if the front office eventually shifts toward a rebuild, Flowers could be one of the first pieces they build around.<\/p>\n

Ben Simmons’ Arrival Shouldn\u2019t Block Trentyn Flowers’ Path on the Clippers<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Clippers’ midseason moves added even more obstacles for Flowers. Simmons<\/a>‘ arrival brought a versatile playmaker, while Bogdanovi\u0107 added scoring punch. These moves bolstered LA’s championship hopes but clogged the rotation.<\/p>\n

However, Simmons’ debut proved why Flowers still deserves a chance. Simmons thrived alongside James Harden,<\/a> but the Clippers’ offense sputtered when Harden rested. Flowers’ scoring and athleticism could help fill that gap.<\/p>\n

Simmons’ defensive energy could also unlock Flowers\u2019 potential on the other end. Playing alongside an elite defender like Simmons would help Flowers refine his positioning and off-ball awareness.<\/p>\n

The Clippers’ Limited Draft Capital<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Clippers have heavily invested in their current roster, trading away multiple future draft picks to acquire star talent. Notably, they owe several first-round picks and pick swaps to the Oklahoma City Thunder as part of the Paul George<\/a> trade. This has significantly depleted their draft capital in the coming years.<\/p>\n

With limited picks, the Clippers face challenges in acquiring young talent through traditional means. This scarcity heightens the importance of identifying and developing undrafted players like Flowers. By nurturing such talents, the team can infuse youth and potential into the roster without relying on high draft selections.<\/p>\n

The Importance of Developing Undrafted Gems<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In the NBA, undrafted players often become valuable contributors. For the Clippers, developing these hidden gems is not just beneficial but essential. With a shortage of draft assets, the team must maximize every opportunity to find and cultivate talent.<\/p>\n

Investing in players like Flowers serves dual purposes. First, they can become integral parts of the team’s future, providing on-court production and energy. Second, as these players develop, they become valuable trade assets, offering flexibility in future roster moves.<\/p>\n

The Clippers’ commitment to developing undrafted talent can help offset the lack of draft picks, ensuring the team remains competitive both now and in the future.<\/p>\n

The Clippers Can’t Let History Repeat Itself<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Clippers have been lucky with young talent. Despite limited draft capital, they\u2019ve found hidden gems through the G-League and undrafted signings. But discovering talent means nothing if you don\u2019t develop it.<\/p>\n

Flowers already proved he\u2019s worth the investment. He\u2019s a former five-star recruit<\/a> with NBA-ready scoring ability. The Clippers can\u2019t afford to let another future star slip away.<\/p>\n

Lawrence Frank and Lue must learn from their past mistakes. They lost Boston Jr. and Diabate. They can\u2019t lose Flowers too. If the Clippers commit to Flowers, they might find themselves with a future star \u2014 one who could lead the franchise long after the current core fades away.<\/p>\n

Building a championship roster often requires painful sacrifices. The LA Clippers know this all too well. To stay competitive in an elite Western Conference, they\u2019ve traded away draft picks and promising young players. But sometimes, winning now comes at the cost of losing future stars. The Clippers already made this mistake with Brandon Boston Jr. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5018,"featured_media":124596,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,27,62],"tags":[266,1227,4064,444,4659,98,1332,49987,612],"class_list":["post-124583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-clippers","category-nba","tag-ben-simmons","tag-bogdan-bogdanovic","tag-brandon-boston-jr","tag-james-harden","tag-moussa-diabate","tag-nba-draft","tag-nba-g-league","tag-trentyn-flowers","tag-tyronn-lue"],"modified_by":"Frederick Okocha","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124583"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124583\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":124597,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124583\/revisions\/124597"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}