Why Donovan Clingan Should Be Blazers' Day 1 Starting Center

Portland's rookie big man is already showing flashes of stardom.

Jul 13, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Ibrahima Diallo (53) blocks a shot attempt by Portland Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan (23) during the fourth quarter at Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images / Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Would it behoove the Portland Trail Blazers to start rookie center Donovan Clingan over incumbent starter Deandre Ayton?

It's pretty clear that the 20-year-old two-time University of Connecticut Huskies NCAA champion is earmarked as the center of tomorrow in Rip City.

Of course, Portland is paying former 2018 No. 1 draft pick Deandre Ayton a boatload of money to jump at center, although even at age 26 he no longer looks like his prime Phoenix Suns-era self, circa perhaps the team's 2020-21 season. He has essentially never been the same, and started the 2023-24 season out looking worse than the player Portland dealt to get him, Jusuf Nurkic.

Last year, en route to his second collegiate title, Clingan averaged 13.0 points on 63.9 percent shooting from the floor and 58.3 percent shooting from the charity stripe, 7.4 boards, 2.5 rejections, 1.5 dimes and 0.5 swipes a night.

It was something of a surprise to see Clingan slip all the way to the Trail Blazers with the No. 7 pick in this year's fairly light draft. The Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American was one of the best defenders in the college game by the time his career under Dan Hurley wrapped up, and had emerged as a great rebounder and shot blocker. His defensive upside at this stage appears to be beyond what we can hope to see out of Ayton.

Read More: Portland Officially Signs Donovan Clingan

Across four Summer League contests with Portland this year, the 7-foot-2 big man averaged 9.0 points on 37.5 percent field goal shooting and 50 percent charity stripe shooting, along an eye-popping 12.3 rebounds and an insane 4.3 blocks a night, along with 2.0 dimes and 0.8 swipes a night.

The counterpoint to this argument, of course, is that trading the remaining $69.6 million on Deandre Ayton's contract becomes immeasurably tougher when he's relegated to reserve minutes. But Portland also has two other rotation-level centers in second-year big man Duop Reath and former All-Defensive Second Team center Robert Williams III. Clingan deserves some run sooner rather than later, especially on a club that is looking to tank for a fourth consecutive season, with a loaded 2025 NBA Draft class.

Maybe making Clingan a Day 1 starter is going to be too risky for the Blazers' brain trust of GM Joe Cronin and head coach Chauncey Billups, but it would really behoove the team to move on from Ayton sooner rather than later. And if Portland can find a way to do that, it needs to start Clingan posthaste.

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