Wall, five-time All-Star, signs with Clippers

LAS VEGAS » Five-time All-Star John Wall signed a free-agent deal with the Clippers on Friday.

Wall posted photos on his social media accounts of him signing his contract and receiving congratulations from owner Steve Ballmer in Las Vegas, where the Clippers have a team in the NBA Summer League.

“John is one of the great downhill drivers and shot creators of his era,” said Lawrence Frank, president of basketball operations. “He will add depth to our backcourt with his initiating, passing and pointof-attack defense.”

The 31-year-old guard averaged 20.6 points, 6.9 assists and 3.2 rebounds while starting 40 games for the Houston Rockets during the 2020-21 season. He sat out all of last season while the Rockets considered a long-term plan for him.

Wall had left heel surgery that caused him to miss most of the 201819 season. He sat out the entire following season while recovering. He played in just 41 games in 2017-18 after being limited by a left knee injury.

Wall played for the Washington Wizards from 2010-20 after being the first overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft out of Kentucky.

The Kings made seven selections in the NHL entry draft on Friday, adding organizational depth with most if not all of the blue-chip prospects off the board by the time they made their first pick at No. 51 overall.

There, they chose center Jack Hughes, the youngest player in the NCAA last season as a freshman at Northeastern University. While he’s of no relation to Quinn, Jack and Luke Hughes, his father Kent was a player agent who became the general manager of the Montreal Canadiens last season and his brother Riley was a New York Rangers draft pick.

Kings general manager Rob Blake said he and his staff would be looking for players whose standing slipped from the first round to the second. Hughes fits that bill, to a degree, in that he was slotted seventh among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting’s midterm rankings, but fell to 26th on their final list.

KINGS’ SECOND-DAY SELECTIONS

Pick 51: Jack Hughes, C, Northeastern University

Pick 103: Kenny Connors, C, committed to University of Massachusetts-Amherst

Pick 116: Angus Booth, D, Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL)

Pick 148: Otto Salin, D, HIFK (Finland)

Pick 169: Jared Wright, LW/RW, committed to Colgate University

Pick 180: Jack Sparkes, D, committed to Michigan State University

Pick 215: Caleb Lawrence, RW, Owen Sound Attack (OHL)

In the third round, the Kings traded out, sending the 86th pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for two later selections, Nos. 103 and 169 overall.

At 103, they selected another centerman, Kenny Connors. He saw a spike in production from year to year, more than tripling his point total from the prior campaign to leap from 18 to 56 points. While that upside surely appealed to the Kings, Connors also brings physical maturity, strength and tenacity to the table. He’ll further refine his game at UMassAmherst, the same program that produced Kings goalie Jonathan Quick and Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar.

Thirteen picks later, the Kings used their other fourth-round selection to add defenseman Angus Booth out of Shawinigan of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. A mobile defender with a reputation for poise and steadiness, Booth has earned the trust of his coaches as a two-way defenseman. His body and game alike will need definition as he progresses through levels of competition, but his skating and hockey sense are already ahead of most of his peers.

With their fifth-round selection, they added another defenseman, Otto Salin, a righthanded-shooting Finn.

Salin has also been touted for his skating ability and edgework, though his game skews more toward the offensive side than Booth’s with some holes in his defensive game. He has yet to compete at the top level in Finland, but has produced well against his peers in both domestic and international competition.

In the sixth round, the Kings added winger Jared Wright at 169th overall and then defenseman Jack

Sparkes at No. 180.

Wright’s calling card is his speed. Not only can he reach a top velocity higher than most of his contemporaries, he can reach them in a hurry with his rapid acceleration. He will take his next step in his first season at Colgate.

In contrast, Sparkes stands out even before he dons skates or pads. At 6 feet, 8 inches, he was the tallest prospect selected. He may also be the heaviest player in the draft, depending on which program one reads or what Sparkes ate for lunch. He played at a lower-level junior league in Ontario, Canada, but will show off his imposing physique, long reach and developing game at Michigan State next season.

The Kings traded their 2023 seventh-round draft selection to the Boston Bruins for pick 215 overall, which they used to select winger Caleb Lawrence out of the Ontario Hockey League’s Owen Sound Attack. Lawrence also brings formidable size to the table at 6-foot-7 and 229 pounds. Despite playing in a higher-level junior league, Lawrence may be more of an enigma than Sparkes. Since his rookie season in the OHL, he’s competed in just two games in as many years.