It’s early in the 2026-27 NBA season but we are getting some movement on the trade market. On Sunday, the Oklahoma City Thunder–trying to keep their season going amid a raft of significant injuries–made a move to send out two future second-round picks to the Kings for Nique Clifford, the first-round pick of Sacramento in 2025. It’s a deal that the Lakers had investigated, too, as the Kings gave up on Clifford just a year-plus into his career.
Clifford played 75 games last year and averaged 8.6 points with 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists. But he fell out of the team’s rotation this year, playing just eight games and averaging 1.6 points. Clifford is an athletic, 6-foot-5 shooting guard, though, and was drawing interest from teams after he had been the No. 24 overall pick for the Kings last year.
Lakers Weighed Move for Nique Clifford
The Lakers have limited trade assets remaining, but were apparently circling a potential Clifford deal.
That’s according to Mike Scotto of HoopsHype, who wrote no Twitter/X: “The Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets expressed interest in Nique Clifford before the Sacramento Kings traded him to the Oklahoma City Thunder for two seconds, per sources. OKC’s Dalen Terry is on a non-guaranteed deal and can be waived for Clifford to take his 15th spot.
The Lakers’ willingness to try to deal for Clifford is interesting, because the team only has two future second-round picks available to deal–from Washington, in 2031 and 2032–and has a gaping hole on the roster at backup center. The presumption is that the Lakers will use one or both of those second-round picks to bring in another big man, perhaps soon.
A Clifford trade would have been a head-scratcher, but he is off to the Thunder now.
Lakers ‘Expressed Interest’ in Trade for Former 1st-Round Pick