The fact that the Portland Trail Blazers seem content on entering the 2026-27 season with a backcourt logjam is telling about their young core. Former top-ten draft picks Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson were expected to be the building blocks in this rebuild. Instead, it's been the frontcourt, built through trades for Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara as well as the 2024 draft steal of Donovan Clingan.
The UConn big man is the one pick Portland has absolutely nailed in its rebuild, and it's allowed them the flexibility to navigate the offseason knowing they have their defensive anchor of the future already in place.
Donovan Clingan is the one pick Portland nailed in its rebuild
A potential starting backcourt of Ja Morant and Damian Lillard is talented but quite the puzzling fit. The one thing that could potentially make it work is Clingan's dominance anchoring the middle as a black hole who makes it less important if Morant or Lillard can consistently stay in front of their guy.
Portland found more balance in its roster this offseason, sacrificing defense for offense by bringing in more playmaking in Morant. Clingan gives them the ability to do that while helping maintain at least some semblance of their defensive identity, along with other defensive playmakers, one of whom is backup center Robert Williams III.
Portland brought back Time Lord on a three-year, $44 million extension that was a great decision given the injury protections and question marks behind Clingan on the depth chart. They've received some criticism for having so many bigs on this roster after bringing in Micah Potter, Branden Carlson, and Jeremy Sochan.
But the important thing to consider in this frontcourt situation is that it's not coming at the expense of Clingan, who has a clear starting role and minutes. The depth is complementing his game rather than hindering his development, with Williams around more so as a stopgap until Yang Hansen is ready to contribute.
Blazers continue to build around Donovan Clingan
The same can't be said for the backcourt situation, where the veterans are projected to be ahead of Sharpe and Henderson on the depth chart. Portland's frontcourt situation is more of a calculated mess, while the backcourt appears to be an in-progress experiment of throwing imperfect fits against a wall to see what sticks.
It's also a testament to Clingan's ability to earn a starting spot as an immediate impact prospect, showing how far ahead he is in the roster pecking order compared to their young guards. Avdija has established himself as the face of this rebuild, but now it's Clingan and Camara right below him in that second tier.
The Blazers should be thrilled with Clingan's second-year leap, where he showed statistical improvements across the board that even included a 34.1 percent season from beyond the arc. He already was one of the safest prospects coming out of that uncertain 2024 draft class because of how well his physical tools would translate to what he does best: rebound and protect the rim. But this past season also showed that the Blazers big man has a ceiling that's higher than most expected.
The analytics and per-36 numbers from Clingan's rookie season suggested he was set to break out in an increased role following Deandre Ayton's buyout. He achieved just that, cementing his place as a building block for Portland. From that improvement comes reason for optimism that Clingan is only scratching the surface at just 22 years old. There's a realistic possibility Portland has a future All-Star on its hands if Clingan's offense continues to catch up to his elite defense.
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