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As the Clippers are gathering players on non-guaranteed contracts (namely, Chuck Hayes and Nikoloz Tskitishvili), there's another name they should perhaps consider: Jan Veselý. Apparently the former 6th overall pick is looking for another chance in the NBA. For now, Vesely remains on an infamous list of seven players since the merger who were drafted in the Top 6 and played three or fewer seasons in the NBA:
- Jan Veselý
- Jonny Flynn
- Jay Williams
- Len Bias
- Chris Washburn
- Russell Cross
- James Ray
Worse yet, only two of these seven players (including Veselý) are on this list for reasons other than injuries or drugs. [On a related note, Yaroslav Korolev only played two seasons with the Clippers... man that pick blew.]
To be clear, there has been no rumor linking the Clippers with Veselý. However, there's an argument to be made that the Clippers should take a look at him. For all the labels of being a bust, Veselý is only 25 years old. He's only a few months older than Lance Stephenson. It's not news that the Clippers are short on young(er) players that they could develop.
After an underwhelming season last year in Turkey (in 29 games at 21.9 minutes a game, he averaged 11.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1 block), Veselý has performed admirably recently for the Czech Republic in Euro Basketball with 16.8 points and 9.0 rebounds a game (the Czech Republic plays Serbia in the semifinals tomorrow). It's also worth mentioning that Veselý is 6'11''.
So while Veselý likely won't pan out to much of anything, the Clippers still have an open 15th roster spot. The question remains whether the Clippers should try to stick another ready veteran onto the roster (i.e. Chuck Hayes), or if they should perhaps think about scratching a lotto ticket with a younger player that might still have untapped potential.
If the answer is the latter, I present to you another (in a probably long line of) candidate(s): Jan Veselý.