The Portland Trail Blazers selected Donovan Clingan with the No. 7 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Clingan played two collegiate seasons at UConn, and he won national championships in each of them. As a freshman during the 2022-23 season, he was the backup to current Chicago Bulls big Adama Sanogo, but he still managed to earn All-Freshman honors in the Big East. He took over as the starter last season and flourished, ultimately leaving the Huskies with a 68-11 total record and two national titles to his name.
Clingan is this draft's preeminent rim-protector. He is 7-foot-2 with a nearly 7-7 wingspan and blocked 2.5 shots per game in only around 23 minutes per night last season. That size serves him well on offense as well, as he is also an elite lob threat that will benefit from NBA-caliber spacing and playmaking. He has nice touch near the rim and will be an immediate impact player on the glass. The questions for Clingan are more situational. Can he defend the perimeter against five-out offenses? Can he make enough free throws to survive if the opposing team decides to hack him? Clingan is a top prospect because of what he can do, but he's not viewed as a sure thing because of the weaknesses he brings with him to the table.
Portland had a busy day Wednesday. Before the draft began, they traded two first-round picks, two second-round picks and Malcolm Brogdon to the Washington Wizards for Deni Avdija. That deal helped them secure one of the best available perimeter defenders on the trade market, and in Clingan, they secure the best interior defender in this draft class. After ranking No. 23 on defense last season, the first of their post-Damian Lillard rebuild, Portland has seemingly made a point of upgrading on that end of the floor.
The big question now is what Portland will do with its two incumbent, veteran centers. Deandre Ayton still has two years left on his max contract, and Robert Williams III still has two years and roughly $26 million left on his deal. While Williams missed most of last season due to injury, it's hard to imagine Portland finding minutes for all three if Williams returns. The Blazers could potentially play the two of them together, but as none of them are reliable 3-point shooters, that would compromise their spacing, a particular issue considering how much Scoot Henderson also struggles from deep.
There are still fit issues to figure out on this roster, and a bit of a logjam between the players who were on Lillard's roster, those who came over in the trade and the youngsters on the team now. Portland still has work to do in clarifying who is part of the core and who is expendable moving forward, but both of Wednesday's additions certainly qualify for the former. Even after trading one of their lottery picks, the Blazers are walking away from draft night with two valuable young defenders.
