The Memphis Grizzlies Should Consider Trading Up For Donovan Clingan

UConn big Donovan Clingan would be a great fit in Memphis.

Apr 8, 2024; Glendale, AZ, USA; Connecticut Huskies center Donovan Clingan (32) celebrates defeating / Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA Draft Lottery took place Sunday afternoon in what may’ve been one of the most shocking lotteries ever. The Atlanta Hawks, the team with the fourth-lowest odds of landing the number one overall pick, went home striking gold. The Detroit Pistons, who finished with one of the worst records in NBA history, landed the fifth overall pick for the third straight year. And the Memphis Grizzlies, who had one of if not the single most injury-riddled season of all-time, landed just the ninth-overall pick.

While definitely an underwhelming result, the Grizzlies are still adding a lottery pick to a core of Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., Marcus Smart, Desmond Bane, Vince Williams Jr., and GG Jackson, and have the option of packaging the pick to either move out or up in the lottery. They should choose to do the latter, more specifically, trading up in the lottery to draft Donovan Clingan with him projected to go seventh overall to the Portland Trailblazers. Plenty of teams will be looking to trade out of the lottery in such a weak draft, so trading up is certainly achievable.

Clingan to the Grizzlies is one of the best hypothetical fits in this year’s draft. Having traded away Steven Adams, Memphis is at a dire need for screening and rebounding at the center position. And outside of Zach Edey, no prospect provides a better combination of the two than Clingan. The importance of Adams’ screening for Ja Morant in particular should not be underemphasized — since his arrival for the 2021-22 season, Morant has averaged 31.1 points per 75 possessions on 57.8% True Shooting with Adams on the court which drops to 27.2 points per 75 possessions on 55.4% True Shooting with him off the court. Adams’ strength as a screener, feel for rescreening, and Gortat screens all made life much easier for Morant as a scorer.

While Clingan isn’t quite on the level of Adams as a screener, his strength and feel for screening and rescreening is potent for a 20-year-old and would fill a hole for Memphis. His strong 23.4% defensive rebound rate and 13.8% on the offensive glass in his sophomore season at UConn would be essential next to a weak rebounding Jackson Jr. as well.

Clingan and Jackson Jr. compliment each other perfectly on defense too. Clingan’s class-best pick-and-roll defense, where his drop defense is all-worldly and he has the ability to stretch out and play at the level of the screener, would lessen Jackson Jr.’s work load defensively. In years past where his other big was Jonas Valanciunas or Adams, he would sometimes be overextended as they would allow one too many breakdowns.

Valanciunas and Adams’ inability to defend pick-and-rolls well led to Jackson Jr. defending those actions more than he should. While he’s good as a pick-and-roll defender, his optimal role is as a ‘roamer,’ who guards the team’s worst shooter or corner shooter, and roams off his man to protect the paint when a defensive breakdown occurs at the perimeter. Clingan’s pick-and-roll excellence would allow Jackson Jr. to play and excel in this role better — and having him as the backline defender would allow Clingan to experiment with more aggressive coverages knowing Jackson Jr. has his back. With Marcus Smart and Donovan Clingan as the primary level of defense and a DPOY as the second level of defense, the Grizzlies would immediately contend for a top-five defense.

The main concern with Clingan would be his offensive versatility — or lack thereof. He’s a playfinishing big with unspectacular touch who can’t shoot. Jackson Jr. would have to improve his shooting to make double-big lineups with Clingan more viable. Since his sophomore season in which he shot 39.4% on 10.6 threes per 100 possessions, he’s only shot 32.6% on 8.5 threes per 100 possessions in his past 4 seasons.

Clingan could provide great value as a backup big right away, and if Jackson Jr. were to improve his shooting, a long-time starter. He brings rim protection, pick-and-roll defense, screening, finishing, and some passing chops, all of which Memphis could use. If they’re able to find a team willing to trade down or out of the lottery, the Grizzlies should seriously consider putting together a package to trade up and draft Donovan Clingan.

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