{"id":204994,"date":"2026-07-14T07:00:32","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T11:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=204994"},"modified":"2026-07-13T21:18:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T01:18:21","slug":"summer-league-clippers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/07\/14\/summer-league-clippers\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 NBA Summer League: 1 Question For Each Clippers Rookie"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the 2026 NBA Summer League underway, the Los Angeles Clippers have brought most of their rookies from the 2026 NBA Draft<\/a> to participate. That group consists of the fifth overall pick, Keaton Wagler<\/a>, the 36th overall pick, Baba Miller<\/a>, and the 55th overall pick, Nick Martinelli<\/a>. The only player Los Angeles didn’t send to Las Vegas is the 57th overall pick, Narcisse Ngoy<\/a>, who will be playing for the Auburn Tigers next season<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Each of the rookies that the Clippers sent is extremely talented in their own way, but they do have major questions surrounding their game that can be addressed with their play in Summer League. Let’s explore one question for each Los Angeles Clippers rookie currently playing in Summer League.<\/p>\n

2026 NBA Summer League: 1 Question For Each Clippers Rookie<\/h2>\n

Keaton Wagler<\/h3>\n

Question: Can Wagler Handle The Increased Physicality?<\/h4>\n

The Clippers’ trend towards a new, more youthful era is headlined by the addition of Wagler<\/a>. He was one of the best freshman guards in the country, demonstrating strong offensive capabilities as a scorer and playmaker. He has proven himself to be a strong scorer, providing efficient scoring at both the rim and from beyond the arc.<\/p>\n

Wagler can pull up from anywhere on the court and possesses the deep range from three that will force defenders to play up on him. From there, he can use his crafty handle to get into the paint and either finish at the rim or spray the ball back out to open teammates. He also operates ball screens well, allowing him to create advantages against opponents for great scoring opportunities.<\/p>\n

What makes Wagler such a major offensive threat is that he is a great playmaker on top of his scoring capabilities. He has great court vision and passing feel, allowing him to make great reads against opposing defenses. Wagler knows how to use the threat of his scoring to collapse defenses and create wide-open shots for his team. He can generate many excellent scoring opportunities without turning the ball over too much as well.<\/p>\n

Wagler possesses great potential as a plus-sized guard who can be a major offensive threat. However, there is one key question he must address as he begins his NBA journey. Specifically, the question is whether or not Wagler can handle the increased physicality of NBA-level athletes. Despite being six-foot-six, Wagler only came in at 188 lbs. In college, there were times when his lacking physicality caused him major struggles on both ends of the floor. Based on the games he played in Summer League currently, Wagler does need to improve his strength. While he does have more games ahead of him, Wagler’s physicality will need to be closely examined.<\/p>\n

Baba Miller<\/h3>\n

Question: Will Miller’s Scoring Keep Up Against Better Competition?<\/h4>\n

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As one of Los Angeles’ second-round selections, getting Miller is a major pickup for the Clippers as they build towards the future. At six-foot-ten, Miller stands as an athletic forward who possesses intriguing potential on both ends of the floor. Offensively, Miller provides a unique skill set as a tall ball-handler who can attack the basket and make passing reads. As for defense, Miller has the athletic ability and physical tools to be an impactful defender who can guard multiple positions.<\/p>\n

Miller has all the tools to be a successful player for the Clippers, but he does have major questions surrounding him, especially on offense. Miller, despite his tools and athleticism, wasn’t the most effective offensive player as he struggled to shoot the ball and mainly scored when attacking the rim. Which leads to the question of whether Miller’s scoring can keep up against better competition in Summer League. Miller will need to make adjustments to make sure he can still be treated as a threat offensively. Through two Summer League games, Miller has been an effective and efficient scorer who also made shots from distance. It’s only been two games, but Miller has been answering the question positively.<\/p>\n

Nick Martinelli<\/h3>\n

Question: Can Martinelli’s Athleticism Hold Up?<\/h4>\n

Martinelli<\/a> is the last of the drafted rookies playing in Summer League for Los Angeles, but that does not mean Martinelli isn’t a talented player. The six-foot-seven forward stands as an impressive offensive talent who can be an effective scorer in a variety of ways. He is an efficient scorer from all three levels while being the most effective as a mid-range shooter. Martinelli can post up, pick-and-pop, spot up, drive, and still be effective in other offensive contexts.<\/p>\n

Martinelli is a true scorer who has also shown potential in terms of passing and defense, but the big question for him is whether or not his athleticism will hold up against NBA-level athletes. Martinelli isn’t a great athlete and mostly relied on his strength and skill to get by at the college level. His lack of athleticism limited his offensive impact as a creator and negatively affected his defense. He struggled to get by opposing defenders, and quick guards can exploit him. His level of athleticism will be something to watch as Summer League progresses. Based on the games he played, the concerns regarding his athleticism appear more on the defensive end.<\/p>\n

Featured Image: Brad Penner-Imagn Images<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the 2026 NBA Summer League underway, the Los Angeles Clippers have brought most of their rookies from the 2026 NBA Draft to participate. That group consists of the fifth overall pick, Keaton Wagler, the 36th overall pick, Baba Miller, and the 55th overall pick, Nick Martinelli. The only player Los Angeles didn’t send to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5121,"featured_media":205101,"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":[1608,27,62,556],"tags":[49942,50388,50443],"class_list":["post-204994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-clippers","category-nba","category-nba-draft","tag-2026-nba-draft","tag-keaton-wagler","tag-nick-martinelli"],"modified_by":"Benjamin Yu, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204994","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\/5121"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204994"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204994\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":205103,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204994\/revisions\/205103"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/205101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=204994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=204994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}