Can Donovan Clingan Blaze a New Trail for Portland?

Donovan Clingan was drafted No. 7 in the 2024 NBA Draft. Coming off back-to-back college basketball championships with UConn, he hopes to ignite success for the dormant Portland TrailBlazers. 

Donovan Clingan was a high school breakout star, leading his team to 2 consecutive Central Conn. Conference Championships. In his senior year, he averaged 30.3 points, 18.4 rebounds, and 6.2 blocks per game before admitting to UConn.

There, Clingan immediately impacted the team coming off the bench as a freshman. He received national recognition and was named MVP at the Phil Knight Invitational Tournament. In his second year, he started and led UConn to the No.1 seed averaging 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks. He ultimately played a significant role in winning UConn’s second straight national championship.  

Now a Trailblazer, Clingan can make Portland a relevant team again. With stars such as DeAndre Ayton and Scoot Henderson, Portland has pieces that can work with Donovan to better the potential of the team. Clingan has shown promise in his pick-and-roll game, which can cater to his offensive weapons alongside Henderson. He can also become a reliable backup center for DeAndre Ayton, learning from the experienced big man. 

As a center, Clingan can become a great initiator of second-hand points due to his length. He will be an intensifier in the paint, relying on the post because of his consistency close to the rim, scoring much-needed points for Portland. However, from here and there, the 7 ‘2 center is capable of drilling from beyond the arc, which will be beneficial for him to expand his range of offensive capabilities. Also, weighing in at 280 pounds while being extremely lengthy, Clingan can suitably go up against other lighter big men to score buckets and grab rebounds within the paint. 

To maximize his potential, he will need to tweak certain aspects of his ball game. For one, Clingan is limited when it comes to offense. He lives within the paint and rarely shoots a mid-range or three, resulting in him not being compatible in every lineup. Also, his vertical is not off the charts so he could find himself being contested because of the lack of height off the jump. Also, he is shooting a little over 58% from the line, so he’ll have to boost it to attain extra points.

Defensively, Clingan is an intimidating figure in the paint preventing handlers from diving. If they do, it is frequent for them to be blocked by the long arms of Clingan due to his effective rim protection. He is capable of switching during a pick and roll but it seems that he needs to improve upon it in order to give the handler a run for his money. There is still room to improve defensively, yet he will nonetheless enhance the defensive nature of Portland this upcoming season. 

Through it all, Donovan Clingan will be a tremendous addition to ignite a new fire for Portland. The TrailBlazers will gladly take Donovan’s expansive opposition in the paint as well as his creative interior finishing. Despite rebuilding ever since the departure of Damian Lillard, Portland may look at a new star trio that can give Rip City something to look forward to. Clingan is given the opportunity to blaze a new trail for the Portland TrailBlazers.