The Atlanta Hawks were considering taking Donovan Clingan with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. So how did he manage to fall all the way to the Portland Trail Blazers at No. 7!?
The consensus was that Clingan was a higher-ranked prospect than that, but it essentially came down to team need, as franchises selecting before Portland already had their center position solidified.
Washington was the one exception, but they understandably chased upside with Alex Sarr. Houston already had Alperen Sengun, San Antonio had Victor Wembanyama, Detroit had Jalen Duren, and Charlotte had Mark Williams. All of those bigs are turning out to be rising stars for their respective teams, besides Williams.
Whether it was due to injury concerns or something else entirely, the Hornets moved on from Williams just one season later. They attempted to trade him to the Los Angeles Lakers, but he surprisingly failed his physical. He eventually landed with the Phoenix Suns, where he's played a key role in their franchise turnaround.
The fact that Charlotte didn't view Williams as their long-term center means they could've easily drafted Clingan. But instead of going with the safe floor Clingan provided, they took a high-risk, high-reward gamble on French forward Tidjane Salaun.
Blazers stole Donovan Clingan thanks to Hornets' Tidjane Salaun draft gamble
Salaun was a non-factor as a rookie, which was to be expected, as this was more so about taking a flier on a project for a team in need of more star power. To their credit, Salaun is already adjusting to the NBA learning curve and showing legitimate signs of progress in Year 2, averaging 6.8 points and 4.2 rebounds on 51/44/70 shooting splits. Still, the reality is he has quite a way to go before becoming a more valuable asset than Clingan.
For Charlotte, the silver lining is that rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner is already looking to be a steal as the No. 34 overall pick out of Creighton this past summer, shooting an absurd 78.7% from the field. But again, questions remain surrounding whether Salaun or Kalkbrenner is a genuine long-term starter.
The Blazers don't have to wonder if that's the case with Clingan. In fact, they already knew that to be true after just his rookie season, buying out Deandre Ayton to pave the way for Clingan to become a full-time starter.
That decision has already paid off. This season, Clingan is averaging 10.8 points, 10.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.4 blocks on 54/33/65 shooting splits. His rebounding and rim protection carried over from UConn, as he maintained that physical advantage in the NBA at 7-foot-2, 280 pounds.
But Clingan is also proving that his ceiling is higher than many give him credit for. He's become a willing and capable floor spacer, which gives the Blazers' offense a huge boost by opening up the paint for their players who love to get downhill. He's also an underrated passer for the position, giving him upside as a potential hub the Blazers can occasionally run the offense through.
The Hornets chased upside in Salaun rather than the floor of Clingan. But with Clingan's development, you could make the case that the Blazers wound up with the prospect who had both the higher floor and ceiling.
In retrospect, it's a miracle that Portland was able to come away with a building block in such a weak draft class. There were even talks about them potentially trading up to secure Clingan, but everything worked out perfectly in the end, largely thanks to Charlotte's gamble on Salaun.