INGLEWOOD — With contract decisions looming and an already hefty payroll, the Clippers steered clear of splashy trades on Wednesday night and selected Penn State center Yanic Konan Niederhauser with the 30th and final pick in the first round of the NBA draft.
Niederhauser is an unheralded Swiss-born, 6-foot-11, 240-pound post player who transferred to Penn State last season after two seasons at Northern Illinois. He averaged 12.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots per game, while shooting 61% from the field last season, leading the Big Ten in block percentage and ranking in the top 10 in rebound rate.
Niederhauser, the fourth Swiss player ever drafted into the NBA, will give the Clippers an imposing presence in the post with his height and physicality. He impressed scouts with strong performances at the NBA Combine and G League Elite Camps and with more development could serve as a solid backup to starting center Ivica Zubac in the future.
The Clippers entered the draft looking to use their two picks (they have the No. 51 overall selection during the second round on Thursday) on the best available frontcourt player and a playmaker. In this case, Niederhauser was not only a talented player, but also coincided with the team’s need.
“He’s got great positional size,” Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said. “He’s a terrific athlete north to south. He’s one of the fastest centers, in fact, he tested the fastest in the combine.
“He’s a very good screen setter, roller and vertical lob threat. We think in due time, not next year, but you can squint in two years from now and you can see him with the ability to shoot some 3’s. He’s got a really, really good touch.”
The Clippers got an early look at Niederhauser when Penn State practiced at the Intuit Dome before a game against USC this past season. He was nursing a mild sprained ankle at the time, so he was not on the court but still got a chance to meet with Frank and Clippers general manager Trent Redden. Both were impressed with what they saw and heard about Niederhauser.
Niederhauser grew three inches in less than two years and Redden said he still is learning how to play within his massive frame.
Niederhauser is expected to take part in the upcoming NBA Summer League that begins July 7 in Las Vegas.
“I mean Yanic is, even though he’s 22 … he didn’t start playing the center position until 17,” Frank said. “So, his best basketball really is out in front of him.”
Frank said the Clippers will be looking to add an experienced frontcourt player through free agency, someone who could absorb some of Zubac’s heavy minutes. Zubac averaged nearly 33 minutes per game last season.
“We’ll make a decision in terms of who (Coach Tyronn Lue) decides who plays, but we’ll probably have at least three centers. And we may want to get a different complement to balance it because it is hard at any level for rookies to come in, but especially on a team like ours. But we’ll kind of see how the roster plays out.”
Still, Niederhauser gives the Clippers the kind of big post player they haven’t had in recent years.
“I think we got a chance to have someone that can learn from Zu and grow into a role that could complement him at the center position,” Redden said. “As Lawrence pointed out, we just haven’t had a size guy at that position in the backup role that’s young, that we can kind of feed into and give to our development staff.”
