Assessing Donovan Clingan's Fit With The Atlanta Hawks

Is he worthy of consideration for being drafted with the No. 1 overall pick?

Apr 13, 2024; Hartford, CT, USA; UConn Huskies center Donovan Clingan (32) hold the championship trophy as he arrives at the State Capitol and greeted by fans before teams victory parade. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Hawks have found themselves in a peculiar, yet not entirely unheard of situation. Despite holding the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, they've been "unable to bring Alex Sarr in for a workout to this point," according to Jonathan Givony.

Whether that's due to scheduling conflicts or Sarr having a desire not to go to Atlanta is unclear, and Givony even noted that the door for a workout "remains open." But, nonetheless, not being able to bring in one of the draft's top prospects for a workout while holding the first overall pick with less than a week to go until draft night is rather odd.

Yet, it's a situation that's happened before, and only two years ago. During the 2022 draft cycle, Paolo Banchero never came in for a workout with Orlando Magic and Jabari Smith was circled in as their guy at No. 1 leading up to draft night. But on draft night, Adrian Wojnarowski broke news of Orlando's serious interest in picking Banchero at No. 1, and that's what ended up happening.

At the end of the day, if Sarr is Atlanta's guy at one and that's who they want, nobody's stopping them from taking him there. But all signs indicate this being a two-man race between Donovan Clingan and Zaccharie Risacher as of right now. And among those two players, Clingan is the far superior choice for the Hawks.

Clingan provides two main points of pressure that Atlanta lacked last season: finishing and rim protection. They finished 26th in rim field-goal percentage and 28th in rim defensive field-goal percentage. Essentially, they were bottom-five in both converting and defending the most efficient shot in basketball: a rim attempt.

The 7-foot-2 big, who boasts a 7-foot-7 wingspan, converted 70.1% of his 224 rim attempts including throwing down 48 of his 52 dunk attempts according to Bart Torvik. He also hoisted a ridiculous 11.4 block percentage.

The only freshman/sophomore-aged draftees to match similar rim volume and efficiency (70%+, 150+ attempts) and shot blocking (10% block)? Anthony Davis, Daniel Gafford, Walker Kessler, Mark Williams, Christian Koloklo, Robert Williams, and Neemias Queta.

Clingan was also incredibly productive in his sophomore year at UConn, posting a 14.1 box plus-minus. The only players on that list who also come close to Clingan's productivity (8+ box plus-minus) are Anthony Davis, Walker Kessler, Mark Williams, and Christian Koloklo.

At the end of the day, if the Hawks aren't rebuilding but rather retooling to build a contender around Trae Young, Clingan should be the easy pick at one. He provides the best attributes at their worst skills at a team. His attributes are also the best bet for instant-impact in this class. For those reasons alone, he's the best option for Atlanta.

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