Donovan Clingan Selected No. 7 Overall By Portland Trail Blazers I 2024 NBA Draft Grades I CBS Sport

Donovan Clingan Selected No. 7 Overall By Portland Trail Blazers I 2024 NBA Draft Grades I CBS Sport

cing Kong headed to the Portland Trailblazers an elite rim protector the pride of Bristol Connecticut helping Yukon win back-to-back national championships LED this year’s NCAA tournament with 19 blocks he recorded a career-high eight blocks along with 14 points 14 rebounds against Northwestern in the second round of the big dance Yukon head coach Dan Hurley said quote you see he’s a game changer with what he creates for us on offense how he Spooks people at The Rim the rebounding presence the fire and the life that he shows up with every day bring in Matt norlander here who has watched Donovan kingan as a freshman and now a lottery pick here going to the Portland Trailblazer seventh overall you know I love kinging you love kinging what are the Trailblazers getting they’re getting a super intriguing big hakee right off the Jump I’m giving a shout out to our own Kyle Boone who has held firm and steady for weeks that clinging would be seventh to Portland that wound up being true shout outs to you Kyle Boone uh what’s interesting about this is I know that Portland was also quite take him with Zack Edy however that’s not going to play out for a number of reasons here they traded away the 14th pick and of course Edy in every single metrick and even when they played head-to-head outplayed kingan but it’s because of kingan’s ability and drop coverage what he can do there the lob threat he doesn’t shoot it he’s not going to be asked or tasked with being a perimeter shooter initially but uh his athleticism and what he can bring to a team a great I think he’s a great and I mean great passing big as he enters the league as a prospect here uh clingin Camp knew that it was never going to fall worse than seventh but we’re talking about a a prospect that at some point had some Intrigue with Atlanta and number one and then it’s a lot of Team need here he does fit a need with Portland I think he’s got a wonderful chance of stepping in and being a huge impact player not bad for a young man who opted to stay home play at B Bristol Central High School and then guys I remember going to a Yukon practice the October before his freshman season and and I I knew a little bit of about clinging but not a ton at that practice that day at the start of it Dan Hurley said yeah with kinging here we hope that we can maybe get him 10 minutes to give Adam sonogo a breather for us and then over the next 90 minutes just in that on that practice I got lucky that day he looked like the best player on the team so it is no shock two years later after a two-time national champion uh big man gets it done that he goes seven to Portland that’s a big G for the Blazers cing Kong headed to the Pacific Northwest your grade for this is what this is an a for Portland this is this is a best case scenario I mean there there was real traction for him going number one there was talk early on he could go number two they had all these teams Memphis Chicago OKC who were all trying to trade up to get them it looked less and less likely that Portland would be able to get him to fall all the way to seven now they have their center of the future we are talking about a huge physical physical presence in the rim a defensive monster with his shot blocking with his timing and what we don’t talk enough about is the offensive potential at his size to be able to dribble to make slip passes and back door passes off the dribble when you’re 7’2 and I think think he’s got some long-term shooting potential we’re a couple years away from that but he’s got real touch and I think he’s got a chance to stretch the floor so this is a home run for Portland and even if the perimeter shooting is a work in progress you still have to guard him out to the three-point line because he can put it on the floor because he can pass out of it so you know he he makes you honor him out to that line already the shooting um he has the potential for it and I agree I think it’ll come um this is brilliant by Portland there had been talks for weeks that if you wanted to get down kingan you have to go up to three or five or maybe even six my hometown Grizzlies it had been reported they had prioritized Clingan and we’re trying to willing to maybe go up to three five or six obviously when it got to seven you’re probably not dealing doing a deal with Portland because a lot of the uh intel was that the Blazers um had prioritized him as well so now you wonder two questions with the Grizzlies what do you do now at nine do you move out of it and B um if the Blazers just took Donovan kingan is Andre Aton now available maybe he’s your center of the future in Memphis Aver they need to look at Dan Hurley’s offense and say what should we do with kinging and that lob to the rim that’s what he’s going to do he’s a rim Runner he’s a rim protector yeah and I love his upside uh back in 2010 when I was hired as the New Jersey Nets coach before they moved to Brooklyn I had a young man by the name of Brook Lopez and you look at where Brook was you know 14 years ago kind where Clingan is I Brooke wasn’t as good defensively but he offensively the same tools and Brook went from the Nets to Milwaukee and started knocking down the three-point shot um I don’t know if kingan will ever be as good a three-point shooter as Brook Lopez but he has that potential and here’s what I want to say guys I don’t want to have to pull out a tissue right now but you know who’s happy his mom up in heaven Kini Clingan who went to the same high school and he dedicates his life and his basketball uh on the court to his mom and uh man I I saw the story about his mom and he really touched me and I know she’s really happy smiling down on it really is a sweet story and if you saw it at the draft he had a sweet moment with his father there this is obviously an emotional night for them and uh you know on some level of dream come true and the family picture sewn sewn into the inside of his sports coat in the in the uh suit tonight yeah Stacy died at breast cancer in 2018 playing in her honor every time he steps on the floor and now he’s going to go play for bips in Portland what a get for the Trailblazers

The CBS Sports HQ crew break down the Trail Blazers selecting Donovan Clingan No. 7 overall in the 2024 NBA Draft.

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL:
https://www.youtube.com/user/CBSSports

WATCH
CBS Sports HQ: https://www.cbssports.com/live/
Paramount Plus: https://www.paramountplus.com

FOLLOW US ON:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/CBSSports/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/cbssports/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/CBSSports

#nba #nbadraft #nbanews