Donovan Clingan is proving to be a steal for the Portland Trail Blazers. They were lucky the UConn product fell to them at pick No. 7, as Portland came away with a legitimate building block in a weak 2024 draft class. But the Blazers also deserve credit as they could've taken the draft in another direction, with many analysts intrigued by the upside of Rob Dillingham.
The Kentucky guard went one spot later, ultimately landing with the Minnesota Timberwolves after a draft-day trade with the San Antonio Spurs. Like Portland, San Antonio was proven right to pass on Dillingham. Minnesota essentially admitted it by already moving on from the 21-year-old at the deadline.
Blazers avoided disaster by taking Donovan Clingan over Rob Dillingham
The Timberwolves traded Dillingham, Leonard Miller, and four second-round picks to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Ayo Dosunmu and Julian Phillips. In a vacuum, they were able to land a recent top ten pick without sacrificing any draft capital. But Ayo is already proving to be much more impactful in Minnesota, making this yet another "L" for Chicago.
The Bulls had the strangest trade deadline out of any team. It made no sense, even by the low standards we have for their front office. They stockpiled second-round picks and unwanted guards, including Collin Sexton, Jaden Ivey, and Dillingham. They zigged when other teams zagged.
While some may look at that as buying low, the issue is that these guards have little to no value on the market! Buying low suggests these players' stocks will go back up, but we were not sure that's the case, particularly for Dillingham.
If anything, his value could decrease as his league-wide perception shifts from a player with untapped potential to someone who's better in theory than reality. At some point, your age and draft pedigree become irrelevant, and this is just who you are as a player.
In some ways, that's already happened, considering that Minnesota had to attach draft capital on its end. But given the gap between Dillingham and Dosunmu, that's already proving to be a win for the Timberwolves, especially given their timeline in need of more win-now help in the backcourt.
The league is trending away from undersized offensive-minded guards that the Bulls have stockpiled for whatever reason, making Dillingham a hot potato that no team wants to be stuck with. That's why these wise front offices -- Portland, San Antonio, and, most recently, Minnesota -- decided to pass or move on while they still could.
And that's how you wind up in Chicago.
The Blazers took the opposite approach in the draft, selecting a defensive-minded center with the physical tools to succeed at the next level. With Minnesota already pulling the plug on Dillingham, Portland's draft decision looks better than ever.