INGLEWOOD, Calif. — When LA Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank met the media at the end of the season, he was asked what was needed from a personnel standpoint. There’s the draft and free agency, as well as trades and the retention of players. And then there’s internal improvement, in which young players develop and incumbent veterans get healthier and/or hone their fit within the team. Frank mentioned secondary ball handling, rebounding, and shooting as necessary areas of improvement.As the Clippers come out of the 2026 NBA Draft, they have selected players to address their weaknesses, starting with Illinois point guard Keaton Wagler with the fifth overall pick. In Wednesday’s second round, they took Cincinnati power forward Baba Miller, who can address their rebounding issues, 36th overall, then grabbed Northwestern power forward Nick Martinelli to help with their shooting after acquiring the 55th pick. The Clippers also used the No. 57 pick on a player who will stay overseas in French center Narcisse Ngoy.The prize is Wagler. After he was taken with the Clippers’ highest draft pick in 17 years and their first lottery pick in eight years, Wagler and his family touched down at Intuit Dome to meet the media and his new fanbase. Wagler, a Kansas native who will be a teenager until February of the 2026-27 NBA season, picked a new number (1) after wearing 23 last season at Illinois, got to see his spot in the locker room and sat down for a question-and-answer session at center court.The Clippers expressed how impressed they were with Wagler, and how loyal and dedicated he is to winning and playing the right way. Wagler, in turn, feels the Clippers are the right team for him.Can Keaton Wagler coexist with Darius Garland with Los Angeles ClippersZach Harper and CJ Moore“I learned a lot throughout this whole process, talking with them at the combine,” Wagler said. “And then when I came and worked out here, I got to spend a good three days here. And I just saw just how genuine they were: front office, coaches, players. They’re all around, and they were just super genuine. And I mean, I just love the culture that they have built. And they have some young players and some veterans that I can learn from. And it’s just, I feel like I fit in really well here. And I mean, yeah, this is the place that I want it to be. And I’m just super excited to get going.”The last Clippers lottery pick was future two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in 2018. Gilgeous-Alexander was a 19-year-old one-and-done guard who measured in at 6-foot-5 and 180 pounds at the combine. Wagler, also a one-and-done guard, measured in at the same height and a similar weight (188 pounds). While Wagler acknowledged the Gilgeous-Alexander similarity, there was another star point guard in the 2025 NBA Finals to whom Wagler feels he is a closer model. That player comes from the Indiana Pacers team that made it possible for the Clippers to select Wagler at No. 5 in this draft.