I generally don't like trading down. If Brown is your guy, then take him at #5.
Only way I'd trade down is if I get a proven player back, not a #23 where there is a more uncertainty.
I'd rather not play a game where I pretend to know what other GMs are thinking, during the trade down. You don't. Or you don't know if they made a promise to someone, etc.
It's crazy but the draft can be so unpredictable. Every draft is a gamble and position does not guarantee quality or skill, as we've seen even a second rounder turn out to be the best in the draft: see Nikola Yokic. By taking the 8th and 23rd, this is still a good return for the 5th. We can double the chances of coming out with something productive. I think the 5th and 6th are guaranteed to be Wagler and Acuff, in either order. Again, the FO seems very keen on Mikel Brown, and as you said even if he is off the board, there are other decent guards. Dime Dropper seems to really like Mikel Brown. I don't know if you've seen his podcast interviews with the Locked On reps from the four possible players we are rumored to pick. However, they are all very informative. Ideally, I would love for the Clippers to trade down for that 8th and 23rd, and then if we could trade Kawhi to GSW for the 11th, we would be set. We'd have a rebuild, Garland and Mathurin still on the roster, and cap space to replace Kawhi. We would have good flexibility to field a decent team with our eye still on the future with a lot of young guys that can learn.
