Draymond Green: Clippers' Slide a Chance for Ingram, Garland
Green says the Clippers' bleak outlook gives Brandon Ingram and Darius Garland motive to shine individually, potentially forcing trades that net the picks LA badly needs.
Draymond Green says the Clippers' rebuild gives Brandon Ingram and Darius Garland a chance to raise their own stock,
The Clippers acquired point guard Darius Garland during the 2025/26 season and have agreed a deal. Green discussed the move on his podcast.
"In this situation, all Brandon Ingram has left to do is show his game. The Clippers are in a bad spot, it's terrible, honestly. Maybe for ten years. So Ingram has to figure out what he can get out of this in Los Angeles. Dominate. That will force the Clippers to trade him somewhere he's actually needed. Because that will mean draft picks, and they desperately need those. This is an opportunity for Brandon Ingram alongside Darius Garland. Those guys understand perfectly well that now is the time to raise their value. Every game against this team is going to be tough. I think that's going to be their mindset," Green said.
The comments follow the NBA's record penalty against the Clippers on 2026-09-04, when the league fined the club $30m and stripped draft picks over salary-cap circumvention tied to Leonard's 2019 contract, also suspending owner Steve Ballmer for a year. Green's read on the roster follows directly from that ruling: a team already short of picks is now losing more of them, which is why he frames Ingram's and Garland's play as the club's likeliest route back to draft assets.
If Ingram and Garland raise their stock, the more plausible outcome by Green's logic is not a Clippers revival but a trade of one or both down the line.
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