Analyzing Donovan Clingan's Fit With the Charlotte Hornets

Matt Alquiza | Jun 19, 2024

Donovan Clingan has as wide of a range of draft slot as I can remember. Today, I’ve seen Clingan being mocked number one overall to Atlanta, and all the way down to Charlotte at six. He’s an interesting prospect with a ton of translatable skill. Let’s dive in. 

Clingan is a two-time national champion at UConn. He came to UConn as a four-star prospect, the number 73 overall player in the 2022 class. He blossomed into a superstar. 

His 2022-23 season was spent spelling Adama Sanogo and decimating reserve front lines with his mix of size and skill. He then became the starting center on the defending National Champions and the Huskies didn’t skip a beat. Clingan averaged 13.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks in his stellar sophomore season. In UConn’s dominant tournament run, Clingan set a program record with eight blocks in their second round game against Northwestern. He ended the tournament with his second ring and a spot on the All-Tournament team. 

When it comes to accolades, Clingan is as decorated as they come. But what is he like as a prospect? Let’s take a look. 

Offensive strengths

Clingan is just a solid offensive big man. Nothing he does is flashy, but he will play his role and he will play it well. 

For now, he will be best suited in a minimized offensive role. Think Derrick Lively on the Mavericks. Lively carved out a niche on a championship level team as a solid screen-setter, rim-runner, and interior finisher. Lively is adept at throwing down lobs and finishing lay-ups through contact off of dump off passes from slashing guards. 

Donovan Clingan with his defining sequence of a truly dominant performance pic.twitter.com/SYnOIV9371

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) March 30, 2024

Clingan will produce in the same exact ways. His solid hands allow him to catch awkward passes and finish from different angles. The thought of him and LaMelo Ball developing chemistry in the pick and roll game is a delight. 

He’s much bigger than Lively, but Clingan boasts impressive movement skills for a big man at his size. He’s not ground bound due to his mountainous build. He’s got some agility and he uses it well. 

Lastly, Clingan is a solid passer. Again, nothing flashy, but his passing skills are adequate for someone his size. Ideally, a big man like Clingan will keep the ball moving and dish it to teammates when he receives pressure in the paint. Time and time again he would punish soft double teams by kicking the ball to an open teammate on the perimeter. 

He’ll never be able to create offense as a primary playmaker like a Jokic or Embiid, but he’ll offer more passing acumen than your run of the mill big. His combination of elite play finishing, solid passing, and overall basketball IQ make him an enticing offensive prospect even if he never develops a perimeter skill. 

Offensive weaknesses

He doesn’t present a ton of upside outside of what he can already do. 

As stated, Clingan likely won’t be able to create offense for himself. He doesn’t seem to have elite upside with the ball in his hands, or on the perimeter. He’ll be a product of the guard and wing play around him. Which is fine! That just needs to be baked into his projection. 

He’s shown the ability to knock down jumpers in the pre-draft process (at the combine specifically), but I’m dubious of his in-game touch. He was only 2/8 from three as a sophomore at Connecticut. His free throw percentage (a proven marker for a players deep shooting potential) was a paltry 57.4% last season. 

I tend to think that if he truly did project as a plus shooter, Danny Hurley’s brilliant offensive staff would have squeezed more out of him in college. 

Defensive strengths

Clingan projects to be an impactful interior defender from day one. His wingspan (7’7”) will be in the upper percentile of NBA centers the second he touches the floor. 

His above-average movement skills and size will combine to make him a potential perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate. Often in college you would see opposing guards and wings think twice before entering the paint when Clingan was on the floor. He had a Wembanyama-like force field around the rim, and that should translate to the pro-level. 

Illinois shot 3/25 from inside the arc (12%) in Donovan Clingan's 22 minutes, going 0-for-19 when challenging him directly, according to @ESPNStatsInfo. He changed the game with his 7'7 wingspan and incredible timing as a rim-protector, while also moving well on the perimeter. https://t.co/beCuzDGXWQ pic.twitter.com/x6COOumfD9

— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) April 1, 2024

This blurb is from popular draft outlet No Ceilings: “Clingan had the third highest block rate among players from a true high major conference, limited opponents to just 43.2% shooting at the rim, and consistently deterred shots at the rim as opponents only took 19.8% of their shots at the rim when Clingan was on the court, per Synergy”

On top of his size and agility, Clingan is usually in the right place. He understood UConn’s team defense philosophy and rotations, and his impact was felt more often than not due to his good positioning on the defensive end of the floor. 

His good positioning makes him an elite defensive rebounder. Forcing opponents to miss shots is one thing, securing the rebound and guaranteeing your team a possession is another. This other nugget comes from No Ceilings’ scouting report of Clingan. 

“Among players from true high major conferences, only 14 have a higher defensive rebounding rate than Clingan’s 24.2 and only one isn’t a junior or senior (Kel’el Ware at 26.1).”

Defensive weaknesses

This section is hard to come by. Clingan is by no means a perfect defensive prospect, but he’s close. 

His main weakness is defending guards in space. In between his freshman and sophomore years at UConn he slimmed down and became more agile, so this went from a glaring weakness to just a small nitpick on his overall dazzling defensive resume. 

Early on in his career, Clingan will be best suited as a drop defender in the pick and roll. Think Rudy Gobert against Dallas. Clingan will have a tough time against jittery NBA guards on the perimeter early in his career, but who wouldn’t? 

His defensive pros severely outweigh his cons, and if he continues to ascend as a defender the way he has in the last two years, that small nitpick will be far in the rear view mirror. 

Fit with the Hornets:

This is where it becomes interesting. If you replaced the name “Donovan Clingan” in this scouting with “Mark Williams,” would anybody notice? Clingan and Williams’ skill sets overlap a ton. 

So, in a weak draft, would Charlotte double dip at a position where they have a starter? And at a position where the incumbent starter was named one of the Hornets foundational pieces by their owner? I’m dubious. 

Dallas and Minnesota both showed the importance of a deep stable of big men in the playoffs, but both of those cores had a big that could threaten the defense on the perimeter at least an iota. Williams and Clingan could never exist on the floor together because neither have that offensive ability. 

If it comes down to it on draft night and Clingan is sitting there at the sixth pick, I think Charlotte should trade down. Oklahoma City has a desperate need for a backup center to spell Chet Holmgren. Memphis is looking for a long-term dance partner alongside Jaren Jackson Jr. in their front court. Portland is intrigued by Clingan’s upside. 

Charlotte would be in a position to start a bidding war for the right to select Clingan, and they wouldn’t need to move too far down the draft board to do it. 

Draft for talent, not for need, I get it, but if you can pick up extra selections in a deep draft or more selections in talent-rich drafts down the line, I’m fine passing on Clingan for more bites at the apple. He’s a special defensive prospect, but Charlotte has one of those already, and they’d be smart to add more assets to their shallow pool if the opportunity arises.