Despite finishing the 2023-24 season with an abysmal 21-61 record that was tied with the Charlotte Hornets for third worst in the league, the Portland Trail Blazers fell to the No. 7 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. It wasn't all grim, however, as Portland landed the prospect they wanted all along without having to trade up to snag Donovan Clingan.
He hasn't been a bad pick by any means -- in fact, he's been exactly as advertised. Everything that Clingan did to help lead UConn to back-to-back national championships translated to his rookie season, showcasing why he deserves to be Portland's long-term starting center with his elite rebounding and rim protection.
Clingan has a legitimate All-Rookie case to make and could be the first Blazers player to be awarded that honor since Damian Lillard in 2013. This was a weak draft class filled with uncertainty, and the Blazers landed a surefire asset that will be valuable for years to come, especially if he can improve his conditioning and become a more consistent floor spacer.
The fact that there's just one player Portland should have drafted instead of Clingan is actually a positive sign going forward.
Matas Buzelis would have been a better pick for the Blazers
Bleacher Report's Dan Favale recently re-drafted the 2024 class, with Matas Buzelis, Zach Edey, and Clingan going No. 6-8, respectively.
We'd still take Clingan's long-term outlook over Edey's, but there is certainly an argument to be made for either side. Still, we can't help but wonder what this Blazers' young core would look like with Buzelis in the picture. And the No. 6 pick for him still might be too low.
There was a possibility that the Detroit Pistons would select Buzelis with the No. 5 overall pick. Instead, they elected to bet on Buzelis' G League Ignite teammate, Ron Holland. This caused Buzelis to surprisingly fall to the Chicago Bulls at pick No. 11.
In the re-draft, Favale wrote, "Matas Buzelis closed his rookie season the same way he began it (once the Chicago Bulls inserted him into the regular rotation): delivering approximately six to 77 moments per game that suggest he should never have dropped outside the top 10."
In 27 games post-All-Star break, Buzelis averaged 13.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.1 blocks on 47/36/83 shooting splits. The fact that he's already a league-average three-point shooter makes Buzelis a top-ten pick alone.
Buzlies shot just 27.3 percent from deep with the Ignite, likely playing a significant role in his draft stock falling. However, the small sample size of 26 games was misleading, causing ten teams to pass on someone with the potential to wind up as the best player in the entire draft class.
At worst, Buzelis will be a solid role player. His 6-foot-10 and athleticism give him tremendous defensive versatility, which would have been a nightmare for opposing teams alongside Deni Avdija, Toumani Camara, and Matisse Thybulle.
Offensively, he makes getting inside the paint look effortless, but he still needs to work on finishing. If Buzlies can improve his ballhandling and finishing to develop into a reliable go-to option, there's an upside that few in this class can match.
The Blazers already have a crowded frontcourt and could have used another versatile wing to balance their roster better. But more importantly, Buzelis was the best player available when Portland was on the clock.