How the Clippers are preparing for the NBA draft

As draft positioning goes for the Clippers, Doc Rivers doesn’t expect it to be the roaring 20s.

There have been more misses than hits in those spots recently, though some impact players have emerged. Kenneth Faried went No. 22 to the Denver Nuggets in 2011. Taj Gibson was selected No. 26 by the Chicago Bulls in 2009.

Rivers sounded as if he was anticipating something less than a future All-Star from the Clippers’ No. 25 pick in the first round of the NBA draft Thursday.

“If you’re thinking you’re going to hit a home run in the 20s,” Rivers, the Clippers’ coach and president of basketball operations, said after his team was eliminated from the playoffs, “it happens [but] historically it doesn’t.”

Rivers was then asked if a double might suffice. He clearly wasn’t a fan of the baseball analogy.

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“We’re going to do a great job in the draft — we’re going to do the best we can — but to go into a draft in the mid-20s thinking you’re going to hit a home run is just silly talk, or a double,” Rivers said. “And to think that that’s going to be the one that takes you over [the top], obviously it would be nice, but it’s silly talk.”

One prospect who intrigues the Clippers, according to a person familiar with their thinking but not authorized to discuss it publicly, is Notre Dame point guard Demetrius Jackson. The speedy 6-footer who spent three seasons in college is an efficient ballhandler who thrives in the pick and roll.

Jackson is projected to be taken late in the first round by several mock drafts, meaning he might be available when it’s the Clippers’ turn to pick.

The Clippers have two draft picks for the first time since Rivers’ arrival in the summer of 2013. In addition to their first-round selection, they hold the No. 33 pick in the second round, an attractive selection because it’s still relatively high yet does not come with a guaranteed contract.

Going back to baseball terminology, the Clippers might be happy with a single given that neither of their first-round picks under Rivers developed into a rotational player. Small forward Reggie Bullock (No. 25 in 2013) played sparingly before being traded to Phoenix as part of the Austin Rivers trade in January 2015, though he displayed some promise with the Detroit Pistons in the playoffs this spring.

Shooting guard C.J. Wilcox (No. 28 in 2014) has logged more appearances in the development league than with the Clippers, but Rivers contended that was largely a function of being stuck behind J.J. Redick and Jamal Crawford on the depth chart.

“C.J. unfortunately just has a lot of guys in front of him,” Rivers said. “It’s tough to move in front of players in the NBA, and he’s been one of those guys.”

Times staff writer Broderick Turner contributed to this report.

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