After the Donovan Clingan selection in 2024, the Trail Blazers' front office mentioned their optimism that he would develop into a three-point shooter. Nobody really took it that seriously, considering this is someone who shot 22.2 percent from beyond the arc on just 0.1 attempts per game in his collegiate career.
But it wasn't that Clingan couldn't shoot; it had more to do with the fact that his coach at UConn, Dan Hurley, didn't want him to. Credit the Blazers for encouraging his three-ball, and Clingan for working on his game to the point where he's suddenly become a threat from beyond the arc.
Donovan Clingan's development has been a bright spot
He's always been a solid shooter in practice settings, but that's the case for many NBA players. Questions remained about how his shooting would translate to the next level, especially given he shot just 55.8 percent from the free-throw line during his two seasons at UConn -- a statistic that is often more telling of a player's shooting capabilities.
Clingan's free throws remain a work in progress, but he's drastically improved in all aspects of his shooting since joining Portland. In his rookie season, he averaged 6.5 points per game on 54/29/60 shooting splits. This year, he's at 12 points per game, shooting 33.8 percent from three and 67.5 percent from the charity stripe. Most impressively, he's doing it on a significantly higher volume of attempts: 0.7 per game last season compared to 3.2 this year.
It's not the most effective offensive method for Portland by any means. But it doesn't need to be. Clingan is efficient enough to be considered a legitimate threat out there, giving Portland some much-needed floor spacing.
Donovan Clingan suddenly opens up the offense for Portland
Ideally, he'd develop more of an offensive arsenal inside the paint to utilize his 7-foot-2 size and underrated passing. Portland can't really run the offense through him as a hub, which is part of the reasoning behind the Yang Hansen selection.
Still, with Clingan adding a reliable three-point shot to his game, he's suddenly emerged as a key building block in Portland. As a team, this is one of the worst shooting rosters in the league. However, their core trio of Deni Avdija, Toumani Camara, and now Clingan are all average-to-above-average shooters.
There's so much talk about Clingan's impact as a rim protector, and rightfully so. But his development as a three-point shooter helps open up this entire offense, giving Avdija and Co. more room to operate. That's made Clingan the ideal fit for Portland on both sides of the ball, which was the plan all along.
We just didn't think it would actually happen, especially this soon.