The Portland Trail Blazers can't play Donovan Clingan and Yang Hansen together, but they have quickly become two of their most important players. Sam Vecenie of The Athletic recently discussed this problem Portland faces on the Game Theory Podcast.
"You can't play Clingan and Yang together in my opinion," Vecenie said. "Like Yang would have to be Alperen Sengun in order to play the two-big lineup that the Rockets played. Even then, Yang does not move his feet as well as Sengun does, so it doesn't even really work that way."
Portland drafted two centers who can't share the floor
Investing consecutive first-round picks at the center position is one thing. It becomes a much larger problem when considering Clingan and Hansen's skill sets and physical tools.
They complement each other in the sense that Clingan is an elite rim protector, and Hansen has shown promise of eventually becoming an offensive hub with his passing. That should still give Chauncey Billups more flexibility to play one or the other, depending on particular matchups or the flow of the game.
However, the total minutes between the two will likely have to be capped at 48, as neither can effectively play the power forward spot. Their shooting would significantly shrink the floor on offense, which would be problematic for a Portland team that already struggles in that department. Defensively, their lack of lateral quickness would become a liability when guarding out on the perimeter, as teams would constantly hunt and exploit that mismatch.
Clingan is reportedly in much better shape heading into his second season and has expectations of playing over 30 minutes a game. Even if Hansen is as special as Portland thinks he is, that still only leaves him with under 20 minutes remaining at the position.
We don't mind the picks, as Clingan and Hansen are proving to both be excellent values for where they went in their respective drafts. There may even be matchups where the two centers can coexist in a double big lineup. The Los Angeles Lakers' roster last season comes to mind, as they let Rudy Gobert look like prime Shaquille O'Neal with a 27-point, 24-rebound playoff game. Billups should at least experiment with this lineup, but in all likelihood, we will quickly learn that it's one he needs to save for very particular matchups.
This raises serious questions about Portland's asset management and roster balance. It's hard to imagine them moving on from either in the near future, and that is the right decision for now. Clingan has a safe floor after a solid rookie season, allowing Portland the insurance to take a gamble on Hansen.
But if Hansen does pan out -- and if this offseason is any indication, it looks like he will -- the Blazers may ultimately be forced to decide between one or the other. Otherwise, their lack of positional versatility will create a logjam at the center spot, cutting into each other's development.