Blazers Rookie Donovan Clingan's Strengths, Weaknesses Can Both Help Portland

It remains unclear just how much the UConn product will play this year.

Jul 15, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Portland Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan (23) controls the ball against the Philadelphia 76ers during the first half at Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images / Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

It remains unclear just how much Donovan Clingan will play during the 2024-25 NBA season.

And that's not an injury issue. The 7-foot-2 big man, 20, was selected with the No. 7 pick by the Blazers in June's 2024 NBA Draft, following two consecutive NCAA championship-winning seasons under Dan Hurley at the University of Connecticut. His teammate Stephon Castle went to the San Antonio Spurs with the No. 4 pick. Both players number among some of the highest-pedigreed talents emerging from this year's class, at least in theory, with solid two-way ability.

Clingan is an elite talent, albeit a raw one. But he may not get the kind of run he deserves on a rebuilding squad with no shot at winning more than 35 games this year because of a monumental logjam at his position. Beyond former 2018 No. 1 draft pick Deandre Ayton, who needs to rehabilitate his trade value with a strong start this year, Clingan will also be fighting for minutes with another veteran trade candidate, former All-Defensive Second Team center Robert Williams III, along with Duop Reap, who was an old rookie last year at age 27.

To hear Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian tell it on his podcast Blazer Focused (with co-host Craig Birnbach), Portland has a unique opportunity with Clingan this season. He's a talented player who'll still need time to hone his skills at the next level. The 2024 Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American can put up numbers while still making enough mistakes that it won't adversely impact the team's ultimate goal: losing as much as possible to nab a high-level lottery pick next summer.

"So the thing that's good for them about Clingan is that I think he's going to do enough things well enough to warrant minutes, but he's going to do so many things at such a low, mediocre level, that he's going to help produce losses. So he's going to be able to go out and there get like a 12 [points] and 12 [rebounds] and three [blocks] night, and he's a negative because eight of the 12 rebounds will be gimmes that anyone could've have gotten. Yes, he'll have a few blocks but that's not gonna matter to the final score. He's not gonna produce much on offense except some putbacks and an occasional dunk here and there, which, again, anyone can do. So fans can get excited, 'Oh look at him, he's a double-double, coming off the bench, oh my god, he's going to be this-and-that,' meanwhile he's helping you rack up losses."

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