Clippers draft North Carolina's Brice Johnson with 25th pick

By foxsports
Published

LOS ANGELES (AP) The Los Angeles Clippers selected North Carolina power forward Brice Johnson with the No. 25 overall pick of the NBA draft on Thursday night.

They selected another power forward with their second-round pick, taking Kansas' Cheick Diallo at No. 33 overall.

Johnson, 21, averaged 17.0 points and 10.4 rebounds per game as a senior for the Tar Heels last season. The 6-foot-10, 230-pound forward was a consensus first team All-America selection last season and the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA East Regional.

Johnson pulled down a school-record 23 double-doubles last season and became the fifth UNC player to average a double-double for a season. He also became the first Tar Heel to score 20 points and grab 10 rebounds in three consecutive NCAA Tournament games.

Johnson increased his scoring and rebounding averages every season at UNC. He shot 57.5 percent from the floor in his career and 70.8 percent from the free throw line.

Johnson is expected to back up All-Star power forward Blake Griffin, the only power forward the Clippers have signed for next season. Last year's reserve big men Jeff Green, Luc Mbah a Moute, Wesley Johnson and Cole Aldrich are all scheduled to become free agents.

Later, New Orleans agreed to trade the rights to its two second-round picks - the 39th and 40th overall - to the Clippers in exchange for the rights to Diallo, a person familiar with the trade told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday night because the trade had not yet been made official by the NBA.

The 6-9 Diallo left school after his freshman year to turn pro. He averaged only 3.0 points 2.5 rebounds during his lone college season, but made about 57 percent of his shots and blocked 23 shots in 27 games.

The Pelicans then selected French guard David Michineau and Maryland center Diamond Stone with the second-round choices that were slated to go to the Clippers, pending approval by the league, which is usually a formality in such cases.

The No. 25 pick tied for the highest the Clippers have drafted since 2010. The last time they had the No. 25 pick they took another North Carolina player, shooting guard Reggie Bullock in 2013. The No. 33 pick was their highest second-round selection since 2005.

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AP Sports Writer Brett Martel in New Orleans contributed to this report.