INGLEWOOD — With contract decisions looming and an already hefty payroll, the Clippers stayed clear from splashy trades Wednesday and took center Yanic Konan Niederhauser with the 30th and final pick in the first round of the NBA draft.

Niederhauser is a unheralded Swiss-born 6-foot-11 post player who transferred to Penn State last season after two years at Northern Illinois. He averaged 12.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks, while shooting 61% from the field last season and led the Big Ten in block percentage and ranked in the top 10 in rebound rate.

Niederhauser, the fourth Swiss player drafted into the NBA, will give the Clippers an imposing presence in the post with his height and physicality. He impressed scouts with strong performances at the NBA Combine and G League Elite Camps, and with more development could serve as a solid backup to starting center Ivica Zubac in the future.

The Clippers entered the draft looking to use their two picks (the No. 51 in the second round) on the best available front-court player and a playmaker. In this case, Niederhauser was not only a talented player, but also coincided with the team’s need.

“He’s got great positional size,” said Lawrence Frank, president of basketball operations. “He’s a terrific athlete north to south. He’s one of the fastest centers, in fact, he tested the fastest in the combine.

“He’s a very good screen setter, roller and vertical lob threat. We think in due time, not next year, but you can squint in two years from now and you can see him with the ability to shoot some 3’s. He’s got a really, really good touch.”

The Clippers got an early look at Niederhauser when Penn State practiced at the Intuit Dome before playing USC this past season. He was nursing a mild sprained ankle, so he was not on the floor but still got a chance to meet with Frank and general manager Trent Redden. Both were impressed with what they saw and heard about Niederhauser.

Niederhauser grew three inches in less than two years and Redden said he still is learning how to play within his massive frame.

Niederhauser is expected to take part in the upcoming Summer League that begins June 7 in Las Vegas.

“I mean Yannick is, even though he’s 22 … he didn’t start playing the center position until 17,” Frank said. “So, his best basketball really is out in front of him.”

Frank said the Clippers will be looking to add an experienced front court player through free agency, someone who could absorb Zubac’s heavy minutes. Zubac averaged nearly 33 minutes last season.

“We’ll make a decision in terms of who (Coach Tyronn Lue) decides who plays, but we’ll probably have at least three centers and we may want to get a different complement to balance it because it is hard at any level for rookies to come in, but especially on a team like ours. But we’ll kind of see how the roster plays out.”

Still, Niederhauser gives the Clippers a big post player that they haven’t had in recent years.

“I think we got a chance to have someone that can learn from Zu and grow into a role that could complement him at the center position,” Redden said. “As Lawrence pointed out, we just haven’t had a size guy at that position in the backup role that’s young that we can kind of feed into and give to our development staff.”